


You Get What You Give

by Watermelonsmellinfellon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Bad Dursleys, Bad Parenting, Bad Potters, Drama, Dumbles is on his own side, Eventual Romance, Everything is a mess of morals, F/F, F/M, Fame, Fem!Harry, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter, Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, Lockhart is a Pedophile, M/M, Mature Situations, Mild Language, Modern Era, OFC does Quidditch, Pedophilia, Plot Twists, Slytherin Harry Potter, Tom and Voldy have different opinions and plans, Worldbuilding, Wrong Girl-Who-Lived, fem!Harry does figure skating, figure skating, he's not super bad but not super good, tomarry - Freeform, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-29 01:33:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 51
Words: 442,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14462256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watermelonsmellinfellon/pseuds/Watermelonsmellinfellon
Summary: Karma is real. It's a lesson that many have to learn the hard way. James and Lily Potter made the biggest mistake of their lives. The daughter they abandoned was more than they thought, and she becomes everything they wanted her twin to be. Belladonna Potter has her own plans for her future and no one will stand in her way. Hard work forever pays.A/N: Fem!Harry, Wrong-GWL, Tomarry.





	1. PART I - You Get What You Give

**Author's Note:**

> -This is a new fic I've been working on for the past 10 days. I have  
> been thinking of this for months but hadn't written it because of all  
> the other unfinished fics I have, but was encouraged by some other  
> peeps to do it anyway. So I did!
> 
> I've wanted to do a Wrong-Child-Who-Lived fic for forever, and here  
> it is! I decided on making the twins girls this time since there are so  
> many wrong-BWL fics already and the ratio to wrong-GWL fics is big  
> enough for me to slot this in here and not feel bad. Also I want them  
> to have flower names because I found interesting ones.
> 
> -This has ten chapters done already, with 5,000 words to a chapter.  
> HEED THE TAGS. Keep an open mind.
> 
> Belladonna - Beautiful Lady  
> Pandora - All Gift  
> Prunella - Plum-Colored  
> Alula - the name of twin stars in the constellation Ursa Major,  
> called Alula Borealis and Alula Australis. It has many different  
> meanings apparently. I thought it would be funny to have a twin  
> with the name.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Having magical twins is such a blessing!" a brown-haired Medi-Witch sighed dreamily as she eyed the two babies sleeping in Lily's arms.

"They always share an ability or talent. The Weasley twins are apparently telepathically linked and very talented at wandless magic," one of the Healers told them.

"The Carrow twins are rumoured to be Metamorphs and can Astral Project themselves."

"The Patil twins are both natural Occulmens, and can conjure items easily."

Lily and James stared down at their daughters. Not identical exactly. Basically, they looked the same, save for their hair colour. Belladonna had darker hair than even James, and Prunella took after Lily more. And if the usual 'blessings' occurred, then both would some day share two magical abilities because that was how magic worked.  **'Twice-Blessed'**  was the term used for such cases.

Belladonna Pandora Potter and Prunella Alula Potter were going to be extra special. They were sure of it.

* * *

"I just wish this wasn't so gross," said Lily, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the bottles that were filled with the proper potions, as well as their blood in order to make Sirius' blood adoption legal. The babies each had to drink an entire bottle in order for the ritual to work.

Sirius shrugged. "This is for their safety in the long run. Some things are worth it."

The thought of drinking blood at all made her stomach churn, but she said no more.

Belladonna took to her bottle easily, but Prunella wailed and had to be coaxed into drinking her own. James and Lily both cooed and petted her hair until it was all gone.

The Goblins said nothing.

* * *

The harsh screaming of one of their daughters alerted them to trouble. Both of the new parents rushed into the nursery where they found Prunella holding her head where a large red bump was swelling above her brow. Beside her, Belladonna was simply staring and looking confused but had remained silent all the while.

The wooden toy lorry that the girls had been playing with, was off to the side and both parents made the same assumption as it was too far for either child to get to now. "Bella, throwing things is wrong!" Lily scolded, reaching down to pick her youngest up, trying to calm her down.

Prunella ceased crying in order to stare up at her parents. James and Lily both watched in shock as the large bump seemed to shrink and go from bright red, to peachy until it was gone and no proof of its existence remained.

They blinked in confusion for a moment, before whooping and beaming at the child.

"She healed herself, Lils!" James exclaimed, amazed that his daughter would have such an ability naturally. It could be a real life saver down the road.

"I know! Prue, you're such a brilliant baby, aren't you?" Lily cooed, swaying in place and getting a giggle from the little girl.

They two were far too wrapped up in Prunella's sudden ability to pay their eldest any more attention.

Belladonna simply watched on.

* * *

Lily had turned away for a moment only. The girls were in their chairs and were shoving food in their mouths all on their own, though Belladonna seemed more proficient at it and made less of a mess overall.

A high-pitched scream rent the air and when she turned, she found all of Prunella's food scattered on the floor while Belladonna had frozen in place, fist half in her mouth, her gaze only on Lily.

Such an action was one of  _obvious_  guilt, and Lily huffed in displeasure. "Belladonna, stop attacking your sister. I don't know why you keep doing this but it's getting old very quickly!"

Deciding that Belladonna had eaten enough if she felt the need to steal food from her sister, Lily scooped the child up and took her to the nursery where she was placed in her cot and told to take a nap. A simple Cleaning Charm was enough for Lily to return to her poor Prunella who had only just stopped crying.

"Mummy will get you more food, sweetie!" she promised.

All the while, Belladonna sat caged in by the bars of her cot, confused and hungry.

* * *

Going into their first year of life, the twins had a small party consisting of their parents, godfather, and a few others who were trusted with their location.

And once again, it seemed like Belladonna was bullying her sister who was whinging while her sister sat by, blank-faced.

"James, this needs to stop. I don't know why she keeps being so horrible."

"Maybe she's, you know, jealous that Prue's been doing all this magic and she hasn't done any."

Such a thing struck Lily as odd. Prue had done all sorts of magic. She'd seen the aftermath of all the moved toys and bottles. But not a peep came from Belladonna. Could babies even comprehend jealousy?

"We'll just have to leave her in the nursery if she's going to misbehave," said James firmly. "No gifts for her. Prue can get them instead for being so good."

Lily made no objections, though both Sirius and Remus weren't too thrilled and insisted on giving the child her gifts anyway, especially since her name had been embroidered on them specifically.

Lily couldn't understand why she behaved for her godfathers but not her parents. There had to be something wrong with Belladonna.

* * *

They had to change safe houses, and had gone under the Fidelius Charm's protection late September. The children being unable to leave the house had left them both moody and it wasn't only Belladonna getting in trouble now, but she was still the primary source of all of Prue's problems, Lily was certain.

Their darling Prue was so magically talented! Belladonna was just jealous and kept taking it out on her innocent sister.

And why? Belladonna showed no magical ability at all. Most babies did accidental magic by now, but not her. Dumbledore swore she had magic, but he was getting old and it was possible for him to make mistakes. Lily held the secret belief that her eldest was a… Squib.

She wasn't too sure how she felt about it, but in the darkest recesses of her heart, she was disappointed. A Muggleborn had created a Squib. Her reputation would sink even further and people would talk if they found out. They'd take it as proof that her blood was dirty and that magicals shouldn't mix with muggles ever.

* * *

James' patience had reached its all-time high by this point. "Lily, perhaps it's time we- perhaps we should separate them."

Lily gasped, eyes taking on a horrified glint.

"Hear me out!" he insisted quickly. "Belladonna just keeps targeting Prue. Yesterday they'd been in the lounge and both were practicing their walking when Prue just tumbled to the floor for no reason and Belladonna merely stared, her own hand outstretched! And then today Belladonna was stealing Prue's food again and knocked all of Prue's food onto the floor! They just don't get on, Lils."

"But to separate them?"

"It seems necessary. Prue can have this room. If Belladonna is going to misbehave, then we'll convert the cupboard into a small room for her until she shows some remorse."

The cupboard wasn't too small in his opinion. Once everything was moved out it could easily fit a cot and a changing table plus both grown adults. What else would a baby need when it came to sleeping? Naughty children didn't get playtime after all.

Eventually, Lily agreed, and the two were split apart in order to save Prue from her sister's tantrums.

Neither parent ever questioned their own assumptions. They believed they knew what was right from the start. Belladonna was the eldest and should set an example and she wasn't doing that. It was all her fault and she wasn't what they'd hoped she'd be. Prue though, was a little angel.

They even discussed switching which daughter was to be the heiress to the family.

James and Lily would spend years thinking they'd been in the right. If only they knew how incredibly wrong they were.

* * *

Removing the Potter Lord from the battle had been easy. In fact, almost too easy if Voldemort was being honest. He didn't care, because it just brought him one step closer to his goal, but it was a bit too easy for his liking. He'd wanted at least some kind of challenge in order to make the death all the more sweet. Instead, Potter hadn't even had his wand ready. What kind of Auror training did he receive? Weren't they supposed to be constantly vigilant? Wasn't Moody a hard arse?

Lord Voldemort had intruded upon the Potter family's safety that evening for one specific purpose. To rid the world of the two children born of the young couple. One of them was prophesied to destroy him and as such, both had to die just so he could be sure. He cared not for the parents. They could try again in the future if they found children an _absolute necessity_  to a happy and hearty life. They were young, they had time, and they were useful for the time being, whether they knew it or not.

James Potter was left unconscious at the foot of the stairs where his wife had rushed toward when Voldemort broke down their door down with a simple  **Bombarda**. She couldn't Floo out nor could she Apparate away thanks to the wards he'd placed upon finding the building. Running up the stairs however, was not the smartest of decision, even he could admit that. It was too reminiscent of a muggle horror film for his liking. Meaning it was stupid and he had it on good authority that Lily Evans Potter was  _anything_  but stupid.

Voldemort ascended the stairs two at a time, easily reaching the nursery where Lily Potter was kneeling in front of the cot holding her twin daughters. They were obviously fraternal since both looked completely different. One bore bright red hair that was offensive to his eyes, and the other had a full mess of black sticking in every direction. They shared one common feature, which was the bright green eyes that put even their mother's unique eye colour to shame.

"Step aside," he told the woman, who was eerily silent as she turned and eyed him up. And she too held no wand. Was she of the assumption that she could make him see sense? That perhaps he wouldn't kill the children who could possibly pose a threat to his life someday down the line? The very idea was enough to make him scoff. If he wasn't going to listen to his esteemed former professor, why would he listen to her of all beings?

She said not a word, but didn't move either. He could feel the judgment from her gaze and hissed his displeasure. No one dared to stare him down in such a way unless they had five ridiculous names that no one bothered to remember, and wore hideous robes of every colour and pattern imaginable. Looking him in the eye was a challenge and with a Legilimens like Voldemort, it was anything but safe.

Raising his wand, Voldemort put the woman to sleep, enjoying the look of horror in her eyes when she realised that he wasn't going to kill her. Yes, she would be alive and have to deal with the deaths of her children. How unfortunate. A punishment for daring to side with the old coot in the end instead of accepting his offer when she had graduated. She and her husband could have been great among his ranks. Lord Voldemort was merciful after all, and he understood talent when he saw it.

Voldemort turned his full attention to the children who had different reactions to their mother collapsing suddenly. The red-haired one was bawling already, staring down at the unmoving body on the floor as large tears streaked her chubby cheeks. The black-haired one was staring Voldemort directly in the eye with silent interest that was far too mature for such a young child. Her gaze unnerved him more than anything he'd ever seen before.

Leveling his wand at the unnerving one, the one he was now certain was the prophecy child, he practically hissed the Killing Curse and watched as it seemed to connect, but instead of knocking the child over and killing her, she swallowed it.

Yes, a baby just  _swallowed_  the curse that killed on contact and had no magical counters. His jaw was hanging and he didn't feel ashamed. It literally went into her open mouth and then she swallowed visibly, blinking rapidly.

However, the child's eyes proceeded to glow a brighter shade of green, much like the very curse he'd just sent her way. The glowing persisted until he had but a split second to understand what had happened, which was not enough time to react.

A bright green light shot forth from her eyes directly, and slammed into his body with an intense force he hadn't expected, ejecting his soul from his physical form and causing a strange tearing feeling within while rendering him powerless in seconds. And the curse, the bloody Killing Curse, had ricocheted off of his chest where it had struck, and slammed into the ceiling which caved in instantly, covering all three living beings in debris. Though the one that had attacked him seemed to surround herself in a light pink barrier, avoiding injury unlike her sibling who was bleeding from the brow and wailing even louder than before.

It made no sense! The Killing Curse couldn't cause physical damage! And it was certainly that curse since he wasn't in his body anymore, and his body seemed to be disintegrating on the floor until there was nothing but his wand remaining. If he hadn't had his Horcruxes, he would have been ended right there and the prophecy would have come true immediately.

What was left of him flickered, and he knew he had to flee. To regroup. To find some form of sustenance before he faded away. He couldn't use magic now. He was weakened and he needed to fix that fact before it was too late to do so.

All the while, the child's eyes never stopped glowing Avada green.

The spirit of Voldemort fled that night, promising to extract his revenge on the entire family. He would not be merciful the second time. Death to all of them, his madness demanded.

He'd been too busy watching the curse destroy the ceiling, to notice the small piece of silver light that slammed into the black-haired girl's chest and sank into her flesh easily.

* * *

When Lily came to, it was to see her husband above her, looking worried. "Thank Merlin you're alright," he sighed.

"We're alive," she noted in awe as she sat up. Her neck was stiff and she felt like she had the world's worst headache.

"He didn't want us, he wanted them."

The statement had her rushing to her feet. All worry fled when she saw both of her daughters sitting in Prue's cot. Belladonna was staring blankly into space and Prue's forehead was covered in blood and an oddly shaped marking.

"What happened?" she wondered aloud, withdrawing her wand from her pocket and magically cleaning the blood off her baby's face. "Why are they both alive still?"

"Lils, look over there."

She turned and found a pile of black robes resting in a pile of grey ash near the door, and resting atop them, was a bone-white wand with an odd handle.

"He's gone," said James in a whisper. "That's all that's left. Prue must have done something amazing."

Their one year old had destroyed the Dark Lord Voldemort. He was gone. Forever.

Lily turned to Prue and picked her up, a wide smile on her face. "Such a brilliant baby you are!"

* * *

"I'm sorry, but he is not as gone as you may think," said Albus Dumbledore with a forlorn look. "Tom was terrified of death and he has been searching for immortality for years. I have no doubt that he would come back somehow, and that means that we are not truly safe from him."

"But- but Prue destroyed him!" James sputtered. "He was ash!"

Albus nodded because it was true. Tom's physical form  _had_  indeed been destroyed. "There are magicks of the most evil nature, that can keep one around even when the body is destroyed. Horace Slughorn provided me with a memory of Tom asking him about such magick. Horace's memory shows that he did  _not_  give Tom the information about it, but he favoured Tom very much and I believe this memory is false in order to mislead me or anyone who came asking."

Lily was shaking her head in denial, but Albus could not let them go unprepared. "It is truth, my dear girl. Tom came asking about Horcruxes, which are a piece of Soul Magick that requires the murder of another. You then tear off a piece of your soul and seal it into an object to bind your soul to this existence. So even if the body is destroyed, the soul remains anchored by your Horcrux and you can still perform magical acts. Since the soul is not a ghost in the true sense, it can still accomplish minor things like temporary possession. The dead cannot possess the living, which is what sets this apart from a common ghost story."

He truly believed that Horace had told Tom. Why wouldn't he? Everyone fell for Tom Riddle's act and Horace was so proud of him and loved boasting about his many talents. Of course he would tell the boy what he wanted. Tom had been nothing but respectful during the entire memory. Tom was also known for hoarding knowledge so him asking about it wouldn't be that much of a shock.

"So Prue is in danger still?" James finally asked, making Albus frown.

"Not just her," he clarified.

"But Belladonna hasn't anything to do with what happened. She can't even do magic!" Lily insisted, voice at an almost wail.

He would admit to being shocked because he'd met both children and could feel their magic easily each time. "Are you certain? I can feel their magic from here. Perhaps she merely does it when you don't look," he suggested.

Neither would hear anything of it. He was treated to long spiels about how Belladonna had an attitude and how she bullied her sister because she couldn't do any magic and was jealous. How they had to constantly punish her for her tantrums. Albus was… confused to say the least.

He knew new parents weren't always the best since they'd taken on a new duty never before given to them, but surely they couldn't believe a baby was capable of that much?

Either way, they were properly warned ahead of time and he tried to advise them accordingly. "I would suggest keeping them out of the spotlight. Word has already gotten around that Tom has perished when he went to your home and his followers are still at large."

"But…" James began, looking like he was thinking hard. "If we spread the word that Prue, the Prophecy Child, managed to kill Voldemort, then everyone will celebrate and we can finally come out of hiding officially! And then everyone will feel bolstered and will begin to stand up for themselves and maybe the Ministry might finally take some actual action in putting those Dark bastards behind bars!"

Lily was nodding along with him. "Yes. It's the best we can do."

Albus did not favour that idea. In fact he felt it a bit too much to put on a child's shoulders. He could see it now. People would worship her for doing what they never had the courage to do. People everywhere would know her name, and being faced with all of that from such a young age would surely change her temperament.

When the young couple left with their children, Albus turned his attention to Fawkes, who looked morose. "Do you feel as unsettled as me, dear friend?" the old wizard asked.

Fawkes crooned his agreement and nodded.

He had a bad feeling.

* * *

"What are we going to do about Belladonna?" Lily asked that evening as the family sat by the fireplace. The children were on the floor. Prue was playing with her wooden lorry while Belladonna fiddled with the mini her that Sirius had made for her birthday.

"What do you mean?" asked James, sending her a confused look.

"Belladonna is jealous of her sister's magic. Imagine how she'll act when she realises why everyone loves her so much."

They had gone straight to the Aurors after visiting the Headmaster, and informed them of what happened. A team with Sirius as the leader, was dispatched immediately and they collected the wand, the robes, and even the ashes. By that evening, the Daily Prophet had announced that the Dark Lord had fallen at that the Ministry was on high alert for Death Eaters and their sympathisers.

People were already whispering Prue's name. They'd gotten about a dozen letters so far from people who were thanking their family and praising their youngest.

If Belladonna was this jealous now, it would only get worse in the future. And they didn't want her negativity to ruin Prue's childhood. So what could they do?

"She has no magic," said Lily. "Perhaps Petunia would take her since they're so much alike. And  _if_  she gets a Hogwarts letter, we'll just bring her back home."

He was nodding. It seemed like a sound idea. Best for the child to be raised among like-minded people. And surely Petunia would prefer her if she didn't have magic.

"We can lie to everyone and say she prefers to stay home and study than to go out and socialise."

Both came to an agreement. It was the best decision in order to ensure that Prue had a happy childhood that she deserved. Especially after saving them all from Voldemort. Belladonna wouldn't be missing anything anyway. And Petunia had a son who Belladonna could play with, so she wouldn't be alone.

It was all for the greater good of their family. It was better this way.

* * *

Petunia Dahlia Dursley née Evans gaped in mute horror as her sister and her unfortunate brother-in-law, sat on her pristine sofa, contaminating it with their filthy freakishness. And the reason for this unexpected and uncalled for visit, was the girl.

A little girl was in her sister's arms, with eyes like no colour she had ever seen before. They were unnatural. And the child was nothing like her precious Dudders who would be screaming and crying. Instead, the child was eerily silent and she simply watched.

She had known thanks to Lily's letters that her sister had twins. She knew objectively what they looked like. The other, which wasn't with them, was like a carbon copy of Lily. This one didn't look like either parents though she was a twin.

And why was her perfectly normal life being bothered? Because apparently the eldest spawn of her sister wasn't as freakish as they'd wanted her to be. She couldn't do any… magic. And as such, they decided to bother Petunia's new family, and foist the brat onto her unwilling shoulders, because they didn't want her living with them.

She'd ceased listening after Lily said Petunia would be taking the girl in. All she could hear in her head was the Snape boy from their childhood telling her she wouldn't be welcomed in the magical world for having no magic. And it seemed that her darling sister had fallen into the same line of thought, which not even Petunia had expected of her.

Lily didn't want her child because she had no... magic.

So apparently they just expected Petunia to open up her home to the girl. Despite the fact that she had a godfather who could take her in at any time. Despite the fact that they were wealthy and could hire someone to rear her properly.

"I am  _not_  taking in another child," Petunia tried to insist. "Vernon has only just started his new job and he is at the very bottom right now. We're barely making ends meet as it is and everything in this house was formerly our parents' possessions. Vernon has to use a company vehicle in order to commute!"

"We'll pay you to house her," Potter insisted almost desperately. "And if she does manage to have magic somehow and gets a Hogwarts letter, we'll take her back and you won't have to deal with her ever again."

Petunia was very greedy despite how she didn't show it often. She liked having nice things and being unable to purchase everything she wanted had been a big boulder on her shoulders. But at the prospect of getting money for housing her sister's spawn, sounded lovely.

The basics would be given. Food at each meal. Access to a loo. An outfit or two. A roof over her head. Petunia was not required by any means to provide toys or comfort to a child not her own. One she didn't even want in her house. One she never asked to be burdened with all because her sister felt the lack of magic was stain on her name or whatever.

"Fine. But it better be decent. My poor Dudders is barely getting enough as it is."

Lily's smile of relief was disgusting. Petunia was only doing this for the money and no other reason. She cared not for the child and she knew exactly where to put it too.

* * *

When Sirius Black stopped by Godric's Hollow that morning, it was after three days of nonstop hunting down his former friend Peter. He'd finally caught up to Peter, and he managed to escape by transforming into a rat and fleeing down a sewer drain.

Sirius proceeded to go the Ministry and report that Peter was an Animagus, providing his memory of the encounter as further proof. And anyone who thought he was the Potter Secret Keeper, was put in their place immediately as James and Lily had come in to report the attack on their family and then he'd had to collect the remains from the nursery.

He had only just been released and he was tired. He wanted to see his best friend and his godchildren and make sure the family was alright. What he found however, was a disturbing lack of his darling Panda.

"Where's my little Panda?" he demanded after a moment of standing in the lounge and seeing only one child.

Prue was busy with her blocks and didn't pay him any mind. James and Lily however, gasped and stared at one another in obvious shock.

"We didn't tell you. She's a Squib, and she's jealous of Prue doing magic so we figured it wouldn't be good for her to grow up with her sister since her jealousy will grow with her once Prue begins gaining even more fame for defeating Snake Face," was James' reply.

Sirius shoved his fingers in his ears, twisted them a bit to make sure they were cleared out, and asked, "What was that?"

"Belladonna is living with my sister from now on," Lily said quietly with not an ounce of regret on her face.

"You- you gave up your eldest daughter to your magic-hating, xenophobic sister?" Sirius asked, appalled by the reasoning given.

"Petunia accepted her just fine. She has no magic so there won't be any friction there," said Lily with a shrug.

"She has magic!" exploded from him like a tidal wave. "I've watched the twins many times and I have seen Bella summon toys from across the room. I've watched her entertain Prue by levitating her stuffed animals. She healed a cut on her own lip once. Where did you get the ridiculous notion that she had no magic?"

He knew James had a habit of being thick, but this was ridiculous!

"She never proved it to either of us," James swore. "If she does have magic, she'll get a Hogwarts letter and we'll pick her up on her eleventh birthday. Even if she's magic, she has an attitude toward her sister that we don't want affecting poor Prue. She's been through enough because of Belladonna."

What the hell were they even talking about?

"Everyone knows you have another child though. You can't pretend she died since you've been seen with her in the Ministry already," Sirius pointed out, finding flaws in their supposed logic.

"We've got that covered. We'll just say she's more Ravenclaw than we anticipated and doesn't like going outside much and we have an Elf watching her. Not that people would care since we'll have Prue out and about."

Did James even hear himself speak? Sirius felt the intense urge to do more than cuff him upside the head.

"Fine. If you don't want her, I'll raise her with Remus' help. Where does the bitch have her held?"

"Sirius!/Padfoot!" the two wailed in offense, eyeing their youngest up worriedly. She gave no reaction to anything going on.

"I don't want such a hateful person influencing my goddaughter! I did the damn ritual to officially adopt them both! I am a third parent on every record! I have a say in what happens to them and if you do not tell me where she is, we're going to have problems, James," he threatened. As eldest, Bella was also his Heiress. The fact that they would do this at all was terrible, but to remove someone's Heir from their purview was enough to cause political problems. Even if he was estranged from his family.

James appeared worried then. "Padfoot, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"James, you either tell me, or unpleasant things will happen to you."

A moment of silence passed between them, before James answered with a firm, "No."

Sirius turned around and stomped from the cottage, disgusted with the both of them. He had to find Remus and tell him before the other two could infect him with whatever stupidity they had dreamed up on their own.

* * *

"They did  _what_?!" was Remus' enraged response when Sirius finally managed to track him down.

"Yeah. And they aren't going through official channels so the payments aren't being tracked by the Goblins. Basically, I have no idea where they put her and I have no way of finding her either."

His werewolf lover was seething, his hands forming fists that he knew very well could put a hole in a tree if he tried hard enough.

"We won't be able to prove anything. Lily is great at Potions and they no doubt kept her brush which will still have hair in it. If an inquiry is made, they can easily disprove it," said Remus, regaining control over his emotions slowly but surely.

"Yeah, so we need to make their lives hell in some other way. No one takes our goddaughter from us without a fight!"

The two men proceeded with the planning. James and Lily had both made a grave error, which was entirely obvious to them. If only they knew to the extent such error stretched to.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: First is done!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first five years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -A lot of things happen in this chapter. You may want to hit something.
> 
> -The first few chapters will be showing what Belladonna's childhood is  
> like. And we'll get some POVs from others in the process. So prepare  
> yourselves! OCs.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

The very first month that Belladonna Potter resided at 4 Privet Drive, the Dursley family had been very wary of her. Petunia had immediately placed her in the cupboard beneath the stairs, but left the door open just in case. Since the girl's parents said nothing about giving her a bedroom, Petunia wasn't going to give one. They should be grateful the girl got a roof over her head in the first place. Since they obviously didn't care what happened while she resided at 4 Privet Drive, Petunia wasn't going to put forth effort in rearing the girl.

She had been walking on eggshells, wondering if at some point the child would explode with magic. However, after the first month of nothing happening, Petunia felt like she could breathe safely again. Also, the first payment for the brat came in and £500 had been within the envelope. She didn't care where it came from, she was just pleased to have something extra to make up for all the extra baby food and nappies, plus some set aside for entertainment purposes. It was nice to treat herself every now and then.

Petunia avoided the child as much as possible, finding her stare unnerving and a nasty reminder of the world she had come from. Having to have one of  _them_  in her home was bad enough, but for it to be her little sister's child, whom she'd gotten rid of for not having magic, just made her all the more bitter toward Lily.

She supposed she could be grateful that the girl was quiet most of the time and only made a noise when she needed changing. She could feed herself easily and didn't make much of a mess. Thank the gracious Lord above for small mercies. She tried to ignore the fact that no sixteen month old should be that far ahead. Petunia preferred to remain unaware of everything unnatural about the child.

Vernon had not taken the new addition to the house well at first. He'd come home that evening, to find his favourite meal on the table while Petunia tried to think of how to explain the situation. In the end, she brought him over to the cupboard door and made him look inside.

"Why do they have to force their unnaturalness on good people like us?!" her husband had demanded, waking the girl in the process. Petunia remembered her heart sputtering and her body growing cold with worry, wondering what would happen.

All she did was stare.

It took time to talk him down and Petunia had to truly sell the money angle well for him to finally stop complaining. Knowing that they wouldn't have to use their own money for her had made him feel much better. And to get some extra to spend on their precious Dudders made both of them happy. He deserved the world after all. He was a nice, normal child after all.

Once she was certain the main crisis had been averted, she revealed her plan that she'd been thinking of all day. All they needed to do was play along and make note of the most important facts. And then the girl would be carefully taught certain things. And when it was all out in the open, they'd be long gone from Britain as a whole.

* * *

Sirius Black returned the glare that Severus Snape was sending his way. The reason they had even been in the same breathing space was because both had come to Hogwarts to apply for teaching position that would be up for grabs at the end of the school year.

Snape wanted the DADA position but Sirius was certain he'd be getting Potions simply because old Sluggy was getting up there in years and he was pretty senile in Sirius' opinion. Sirius wanted the position of Flying Instructor and he knew he'd get it because he knew far more about brooms than Hooch who had also been interviewed for the position.

"What's wrong, Black? The life of an Auror far too difficult for you?" Snape sneered, looking as unimpressed as always.

"Actually, Snape, I'm doing it to get away from a co-worker who has crossed the line. But thanks for worrying about me."

Remus stood by, worrying his bottom lip as he looked between them. "Can we not do this here?" he begged. "This isn't a topic for open discussion in school corridors."

He was right, though Sirius hated to admit it. "Fine." He turned away, but cast one last look at Snape before walking off. "You'll be thrilled to know that James is just as bad as you always imagined he'd be. Congrats on being right."

Remus allowed him to storm off, not bothering to join him as he went to let off steam.

He was just so angry! One of his goddaughters had been taken away without his permission. He had every right to be livid. And since James wasn't parting with information, Sirius decided that he'd get revenge in his own way.

He'd already notified the Ministry of the fact that he was an Animagus. It was hell in terms of paperwork but was finally handled with Moony's help. He then made casual mention of how James had also been training and finished his and how excited he was to use their abilities in the field to catch the bad guys. Before resigning a week later that was.

James was brought in and had to pay a hefty fine of several thousand Galleons. He was also demoted for lying on official paperwork, and he couldn't say anything because Sirius had been the Secret Keeper for  _more_  than just the location of Godric's Hollow _(momentarily of course)_. The Marauder's secrets had also been entrusted to him, and James couldn't say a thing because magic forbade him to.

And this was just the beginning of the hell he would bring down upon his former best friend's head. Since James made such a decision without even consulting him first, Sirius had a lifetime of information saved up on James Potter and his entire family, and he was going to release all of it one way or another.

Charlus and Dorea would be disappointed in their son.

* * *

Lily sighed in worry as she watched Prue. Ever since Voldemort had attacked their family, things had been going wrong. James and Sirius had a falling out and Sirius revealed James' Animagus status in retaliation for their completely justified actions in regards to their eldest daughter. Sirius was just being too emotional. He had another goddaughter to think about but refused to come over to see her.

Prue had been even more loud recently and they hadn't seen her do any kind of magic. The toys remained untouched. Instead of finding toys they used to have in the box, strewn across the playpen, they remained in the box. Before, Lily had known that Prue was levitating the toys out of the box across the room because there was no other way to retrieve them and she wasn't capable of crawling out of the playpen yet. Now she did nothing but cry and cry until they finally picked her up or gave her something she wanted.

It was frustrating! And she didn't know what to do! Molly Weasley hadn't been of much help and in the end, Lily just resolved to ignore the constant crying since there was no reason for it. It was even worse than when Belladonnna had been there.

She didn't know why any of this was happening!

* * *

It started off carefully. Petunia was not stupid and she knew exactly how to play the game properly. Her whole plan was outlined and all she needed was for her  _darling sister_  to prove her right. Once that happened, she would know how to proceed with the rest of the plan.

So when July rolled around, and Belladonna Potter turned two, her parents did not show. Instead, a simple letter came, inquiring after her health. Petunia was forthright and bland as possible to dissuade them from wanting to visit. They made no effort to reply, nor did they stop by ever.

From what she had noted, the letter was very distant, as if only made with the barest amount of caring. Petunia couldn't say she was shocked considering that Lily had done the same when she went off to that…  _place_. All letters home had become more and more stilted as the years passed until she stopped writing altogether when Petunia told her not to bother if she couldn't put any effort into her letters to their parents.

With an attitude like hers, Petunia wondered how Lily thought she would be welcomed in Petunia's home. She wasn't there when their parents died. She wasn't there to help Petunia sort out the muddy details and paperwork. Lily had forsaken her roots for magic, and had left her family to themselves. The very parents that adored her and favoured her because she was more special than Petunia could ever be, were cast aside. And in their final years, they had to rely on the daughter they had ignored for so many years, for any assistance.

Both had been old already. Petunia was born when their mother Rose had been forty-four, which was almost unheard of. And then Lily somehow came along three years later but Petunia didn't remember details just that her parents went away one day and came home with a new baby. Her parents didn't make it to their seventies and in the end, she felt it poetic that the daughter they had ignored was the one to hold control over their finances and well-being in the end.

Petunia firmly believed that she was better than her freak of a sister. Nothing would convince her otherwise.

And since Lily didn't even care for her own child, why should Petunia care either?

And so began Petunia's most inventive scheme ever.

* * *

They didn't even visit their child for Christmas! They hadn't even sent her a gift.

If this wasn't proof of Petunia being the better person, she didn't know what was.

* * *

Belladonna stared around her at the two people she was still not familiar with despite seeing their faces every day. The woman called herself 'Aunt' and the man called himself 'Uncle'. Their son called them 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' but Bella was warned away from doing that.

Aunt had told her that they were not her parents and that parents were 'good-for-nothings' who died in a car crash. And the reason the car had crashed, was because they were both drunk and hadn't been paying attention, too busy 'snogging' to watch the road.

The way Aunt spoke about them made them sound horrible. She and Uncle obviously didn't like them and Bella was forbidden from asking about them ever again.

When she was four, was when she started to truly understand everyone around her. She was living with her relatives. Aunt was her mother's sister. Aunt didn't like Bella's mother at all. Cousin was Aunt and Uncle's child. He was loud, annoying, and fat. He also liked to shove Bella around whenever he got the chance.

Bella had been dumped on them _without the decency of a by-your-leave_. As such, she had to _work for her place to sleep because the government wasn't helping them at all_.

It started off with dusting and sweeping. At four years old there wasn't much a child could do with such small hands. But she'd been instructed on what to do and did it every day, to the exact measure expected of her. And once Aunt was certain she could handle more, she ordered her to mop the floors and dry the crockery.

Bella began to notice more though as her fourth year of life played out. Cousin, whom Aunt and Uncle called 'Dudders', 'Diddykins' and 'Diddly-Dums', got new toys all the time. He got to play whenever he wanted, and if he cried he got even more because of his tears. And he was very much aware of that fact so he cried a lot.

Cousin also got to go outside. Bella could only see it from the windows, but she was never allowed outside, and whenever Aunt and Uncle had to leave, they locked her in her cupboard, and told her to remain quiet even while gone.

She wanted to go outside, even if it was just to weed the garden like Aunt seemed to do all the time. But they said she wasn't allowed because the neighbors - the other people outside - didn't need to know about her.

Bella was not allowed to do a lot of things. When Aunt wanted to teach Cousin the 'phone number', she had ordered Bella to go and take a shower. When she wanted to teach Cousin the 'address' she ordered Bella to go down to the basement and begin washing the laundry.

Cousin was allowed to learn these things, but Bella wasn't. She didn't know why. Cousin was also starting to write and Bella had managed to secret away one of his learning books and a crayon so she could too. She would listen extra hard when Aunt was teaching in the lounge, because she wanted to know too.

Once she knew how to say the letters, everything was easy for Bella from that point onward, and she learned her alphabet easily. Writing also came easy, and she was thoroughly dedicated to mastering it as soon as possible, even using the small bit of light that flooded in through the grate on the door of her cupboard. Bella wanted to do the same things as Cousin, and simply couldn't, but she made do with what she had.

Cousin was always told that he was special and Aunt would always smile at him when saying it. She never said it to Bella though. Bella however, thought she had one 'special' thing that Cousin didn't have. A birthmark on her chest like a lightning bolt. It was white and cold to the touch, compared to the rest of her skin, and she knew Cousin didn't have one after seeing him naked once.

So in her opinion, she was a little special too.

When Christmas came around, Bella once again got nothing while Cousin got every toy he wanted, plus things neither of them had seen before but he claimed to want anyway. As a result of the new haul and his attention being focused on his new toys, when Bella went upstairs to clean the bathroom as was part of her new chore list, she'd sneaked into his second bedroom and stole a box full of broken crayons and a few pocket-sized colouring books that were scattered under the rest of the mess.

Since she was only wearing Cousin's old clothes, which were big on her because he was so fat, she could hide her wares in her big pockets and no one would notice so long as she didn't move too quickly and jostle the box of crayons into making noise. Since she was the only person who went inside her cupboard, so long as she kept them out of sight, no one would know about them.

Another thing that she'd learned were the words 'fair' and 'unfair'. And from how Cousin used the latter, she assumed it wasn't good. And when he used it, put it into perspective for her.

It was  _unfair_  how Cousin got all the toys, and the food, and the clothes. It was  _unfair_  that he got to learn things and she didn't. It was  _unfair_  how he got to go outside and she couldn't. Bella was certain the word 'unfair' had become her favourite word because it described everything perfectly.

* * *

When Cousin turned five, Aunt had burst into tears. She told him that he was a good boy and that he was going to start primary school soon in order to show everyone what a brilliant child he was. When Bella asked if she too would be going to 'school', she was promptly told no, because no one knew she lived there, and it was better that way.

No words about school were uttered when Bella turned five. And no gifts were given either.

She may have gotten used to it all over the years, but it was still  _unfair_.

* * *

Prue Potter beamed for the cameras that practically blinded her. She knew why she was always followed around by people. Her parents hadn't bothered to hide it from her. She was super famous because she was powerful and managed to destroy the biggest magical meanie to ever live! And because of it, the people gave her stuff all the time!

She got free ice cream from Fortescue's whenever she stepped foot inside the building. If she went to either Honeyduke's location, she'd be given whatever she wanted. Gambol and Japes gave her free prank stuff. Quality Quidditch Supplies gave her the newest brooms for free always. It was great!

At the age of five, she was already having the best time of her life. And her mummy and daddy were always so proud of her and never had anything bad to say! They let her stay up late and sleep in late. And she got as many breaks as she wanted between her studies because her mum didn't want her overworked.

She got to fly every day, and eat a sweet every hour. What her parents didn't know was that she sneaked a lot more, but who cared? She never got in trouble so it wasn't as if anything bad could happen if they managed to catch her in the act.

Her room was covered in Quidditch posters and she'd already gotten meet so many of her idols who in turn idolised  _her_ , as they should. Her bed was buried under dolls of her. The creators had done a great job of getting her scar perfect too.

If everything was this great now, she could only imagine how much better it would be at Hogwarts when she was allowed to use magic to the fullest. The training wand her parents had gotten her was so boring. It never did anything and wouldn't let her blow stuff up! After hearing stories of her dad's time at Hogwarts, Prue wanted to blow things up too!

Yes, the life of Prunella Alula Potter was perfection through and through.

* * *

It was Christmas again, and again, Bella got nothing. But for some reason, she'd been told to not do her chores that morning, and to just be dressed by noon because she'd be going outside with Uncle. She wasn't to leave before then.

Something about the way Aunt spoke worried her, so Bella made sure that all of her drawings were folded up and joined her crayons in her pockets. She was worried because Aunt did not say she was going and what if she found Bella's treasures in her cupboard and punished her later? It was better to be safe than sorry.

There was nothing else for her to take. Her mattress was small and the lone blanket and pillow had been Cousin's. She remembered how loud he'd cried when he saw Aunt giving them to Bella last year. Bella would gladly let him have them back just to shut him up, but Aunt insisted she used them.

Around noon, she was finally allowed out of the cupboard and told to hurry to the car. She'd seen it from the front window, and had heard Aunt and Uncle talk about it before. She seen other 'cars' on the telly sometimes, but had never gotten to be inside one.

Bella was too excited by the prospect of being in a car and going outside for the first time to consider how odd the situation was.

Uncle didn't talk for the longest time, and he merely scowled when she jumped at the sound the car made when he turned it on. The ride was long and quiet and they passed houses that all looked the same for what felt like forever.

Finally there were just plants for a long time, before big buildings came closer and closer together. They looked nothing alike and stretched high into the skin like the ones on the telly did.

Signs all over said  **[London]**. She'd heard of it before but hadn't imagined it was so… loud. And there were so many people too. People who weren't just fat like Uncle and Cousin, nor bone skinny like Aunt. People of all shapes and sizes. And colours. Bella had never seen someone with brown skin before. She didn't know it was possible!

Uncle eventually stopped the car in front of a big building that was reddish/brown in colour and looked ancient. They'd passed the sign too quickly for her to read it, let alone understand it.

Uncle was wearing black gloves when he handed her an envelope that was sealed already. No words were on it. "You are going to take this inside that building. The first door on your right will have a woman with hair like Aunt's sitting at a desk. Hand her this and tell her it's from me. Wait for a response."

Bella nodded and accepted the duty quietly.

The door was heavy, but when she stepped inside finally, it was to a loud hallway where the screams and laughter of other children echoed all around her, and as promised, a door on her right.

She knocked.

"Come in!"

The woman  _did_  have blonde hair like Aunt's though if Bella was being honest, she was far prettier than Aunt could ever be. And when she looked up, she gave a big smile that was full of pretty teeth that Aunt didn't have either.

"Hello, dear."

Bella offered the envelope. "Uncle said to give this to you and wait for a response."

The woman frowned then, and took a much closer look at Bella, eyes taking in her baggy clothes that were handed down from Cousin, and messy hair that could never lay flat.

When she finally pulled the letter from within the envelope, she gaped, eyes running back and forth over the paper. She looked back up at Bella. "Is your Uncle still outside, Bella?"

She knew Bella's name. Perhaps it was on the paper?

"Uncle said to wait for a response."

The woman stood and on high-heeled shoes, she hastened to the front door and peered outside. After a few seconds she came back, face fallen and shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry, dear, but your Uncle is long gone."

* * *

Marie Sinclair had seem some sad things before, but never had she ever comes across such a situation! When a child had come into her office she hadn't thought much of it, until she took a closer look and had to put her work down because something was off.

The child was almost robotic as she handed her uncle's message over and simply stood eerily still as Marie read the contents of the envelope. And she was horrified.

 **Name:**  Belladonna Pandora Potter

 **Age:**  5

 **DoB:**  31 July, 2000.

 **Notes:**  Ambidextrous and quiet.

She was dumped on us 4 years ago. We have had enough of dealing  
with an extra mouth to feed. Do whatever with her. She won't be able  
to tell you important details about our home. We made sure of it.

And when she'd gone to check outside, indeed, no one was there. A little girl had been abandoned at an orphanage by someone she referred to as 'uncle', on Christmas Day.

Marie had brought the girl to the cook, who was a nice old woman named Selena. She asked that the girl be fed because calls had to be made and Marie knew that her entire day was just completely disrupted by this entire event.

And she felt so bad for the girl and prayed that no further bad had happened.

* * *

"She's gone?" Petunia asked quietly.

Vernon snorted. "Stupid chit was obedient as always. We've been rid of her!"

Petunia's plans had come to fruition. She had made note of everything necessary for it to work.

Lily and her husband never visited their daughter. Meaning they just assumed she was still living at Privet Drive, and they would continue sending in money every month up until the girl was eleven. Petunia didn't know if she had magic or not, and wasn't going to have her stay around to find out.

The day Belladonna Potter turned eleven, was the day the Dursley family was moving to Australia.

And all the while, the money would still come in! It was brilliant. Lily was a fool and it felt great to know that Petunia was essentially conning her out of so much money!

Petunia loved being a winner.

And now they could properly tell their baby how much they loved him. And they didn't have to worry about the neighbors finding out about the girl.

Honestly, it was all better this way. Her sister deserved it, dumping a child off on Petunia without even a means to register her as a British citizen! Did those freaks not even realise the situation they'd put Petunia's family in by doing that?

This was how the girl would finally enter the system and perhaps she'd get adopted by someone that gave a damn. She wasn't welcome in Petunia's house and an orphanage couldn't possibly be any worse.

Now all they had to do was save up for that eventual move so Vernon could get transferred to Australia.

* * *

"Do you know the names of your aunt, uncle, or cousin?"

Bella was in a bright room with a new woman. She held a clipboard, and wore glasses, and looked kind but stern also.

She was currently being questioned and didn't like how… stupid she was feeling.

"I thought Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin are names," the child clarified, causing the woman to sigh.

"No, those are titles, dear. You said your aunt was your mother's sister. That is what an aunt is. A child's parent's sister. And because she married your uncle, he became your mother's brother-in-law, making him your uncle. But they are not proper names, Bella," she explained. "Did they ever use nicknames for each other?"

"Uncle called Aunt, 'Pet'. They called Cousin, 'Dudders', 'Diddykins' and 'Diddly-Dums'."

The woman wrote everyone she was saying down, nodding along. "Do you know the address or phone number of the home?"

Sadly, Bella shook her head. "Aunt made me do chores when she teached him. I can't know."

"Chores?" the woman asked, looking a mite horrified. "You had chores at your age?"

Bella nodded.

"Can you tell me what they were? Please?"

"Dusting, sweeping, mopping, hoovering, the laundry, the loo, and cleaning Cousin's first and second bedrooms."

The stern set of the woman's mouth seemed to become even sharper as the minutes passed. "Your cousin had more than one bedroom?"

Another nod. "The second was for broken toys that he didn't want to toss."

"And where did you sleep, Bella?"

"The cupboard under the stairs."

A murmuring broke out from the other adults in the room. Three men and another woman. They were dressed in uniforms like the police on the telly, so she was certain they were cops. The four people were sharing looks of anger.

"Did they ever strike you, Bella?"

She shook her head.

"Did they ever refuse you food?"

She shrugged. "If chores weren't done in time. They locked in my cupboard with no dinner."

"Were you allowed outside?"

"No. Aunt said Neighbors don't know about me. She said no school for me too."

"Were you allowed to use the loo?"

"Once when I wake up and once before bed."

"Do you know anything about your parents?"

"I asked once. I don't ask questions. Mum and Dad were drunks and died in a crash."

Another body heaving sigh from the woman. "Thank you, Bella. We're going to do our absolute best to get you the help you need, alright?"

Bella didn't think she needed any kind of help, but so far everyone had been nice. She'd gotten to eat McDonald's! She'd only ever heard Cousin brag about it before! And she had chocolate milk! And she was given a big, purple, plush unicorn to hold onto for keeps.

Her drawings and crayons had been ' _confiscated_ ' because the police wanted to ' _search for prints_ ' though she didn't know what that meant. They promised to bring them back though, so she wasn't too worried.

Marie, the lady who had brought the police here in the first place, told her that she would most likely be staying here and wouldn't see her aunt, uncle, or cousin again. Bella didn't mind so much. She didn't exactly like them to begin with, so it was fine.

Around her, the adults talked about sending her to a ' _therapist_ '. She didn't know what it was, but she hoped it wasn't bad.

* * *

Severus Snape had resigned himself to the fact that he would have to work alongside Sirius Black for the next however many years. He'd decided that he would simply ignore the other man as much as possible because while he seemed to mellow out a little from his teen years, he was still an arse.

He didn't know much, but Black and Lupin no longer wanted anything to to with Potter and Lily. Though considering how both paraded their daughter around, Severus couldn't blame them. Never would he think of Lily as a vain individual, but she seemed to enjoy the attention the family received more than anything.

Meanwhile, the other child remained out of sight. Potter had released a statement claiming that she preferred to read books than go outside. Black's reaction the morning that little interview surfaced, had told him enough. Potter wasn't being truthful.

And since it involved the eldest daughter, if he added Black's reaction, then he was certain that whatever divided the once best friends, involved the child herself.

He was curious, but wouldn't lower himself to asking about it. And from what he could tell, Albus was somewhat aware of the situation and he wasn't pleased with whatever it was.

One thing was certain. He was not looking forward to the year the Potter children started at Hogwarts.

* * *

Bella stared at the four walls of her new room. There was some water damage on the ceiling near the door, but other than that it was great!

Ms. Marie had told her what was going to happen, and she'd finally been made to understand. She had been left there by her 'family'. They weren't coming back and she'd never see them again.

The building was an orphanage where children without families had to stay. Sometimes new families wanted them, but from how many children she'd seen of varying ages, ' _adoption'_  wasn't an often process.

Still, she wouldn't be expected to do chores like she had before, and she would get fed no matter whether she behaved or not. It was already looking much better in her opinion.

And she even got a toy of her own now! Ms. Marie promised that she'd be getting a uniform like all the other children were wearing. And it would actually  _fit_  her.

So if she was being honest, she thought life here was going to be so much better than anything she'd had before.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuing childhood of Belladonna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -A further look into the life of Bella, plus a side note on Prunella too. And  
> there are some other POVs in this chapter as well, that are important to  
> the plot so don't ignore them simply because Belladonna isn't talking.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Marie sighed in exasperation. The police had taken Belladonna's box of crayons and drawings in hopes of finding matching fingerprints so they could track down the terrible people had tried so hard to ruin a perfectly good little girl. But nothing was found, nor could they get anything from her clothing. Not even the shoes, which were meticulously clean. Blood tests showed nothing.

They'd asked the child about what school her cousin had attended, and all she could say was that the uniform was common, with with a green coat. She knew nothing of the insignia and couldn't help them further on that front.

As for Bella, she was of a higher intelligence than the normal five year old. It was obvious with how she'd spoken from their meeting, but then how she had answered the woman from Child Services. She comprehended things much easier than other five year olds did.

Her stilted speech however, was because of the people she'd formerly lived with. She generally wasn't allowed to watch television, and only managed a few times because she was being sneaky. She wasn't allowed to learn how to write, at least her aunt  _thought_  she didn't know. The girl had taught herself after listening in on a few lessons her cousin had been put through. She could read well enough but she could write her letters expertly.

She had never been exposed to other children her age and she wasn't spoken to directly unless it was an order. So of course she wasn't as far along socially like other children, but she was developmentally ahead of them. It was an unfortunate mix and it meant they had to catch her up since she was going to be joining the students her age after she had acclimated to her situation.

The paperwork was not finished yet. There were other things involved in the situation that she couldn't just tell a five year old. She wouldn't be able to understand that much no matter how smart she was.

The prospects of finding Bella's abusers were incredibly low. And that ticked her off so much! It was 2005 and their technology was improving in mass strides by the month! How could they not find the monsters responsible?!

Anyway, Bella was scheduled to see a child psychiatrist and she could only imagine the things that would happen in their sessions.

* * *

Anne had been a psychiatrist for over ten years. She did her job very well and rarely had problems save for a few hiccups here and there. And once again, she was being given a patient, but this was under strange circumstances that had never happened to her before.

By all intents and purposes, according to the matron of the child's new orphanage, she didn't exist. And her former  _caretakers_  - the word had been practically hissed with revulsion - had manipulated things so she didn't know their names, their address or number, and made sure she'd never been outside so things couldn't be traced back to them.

She'd met with the woman first to get her take on everything. She then met with the Child Services worker, who gave her a copy of the interview they'd had with the child in question.

She was aware to an extent of what had happened, but her newest patient was different from the others. According to both women she'd spoken to, the girl was brilliant. She was capable of focusing on a single topic for a seemingly undetermined amount of time. She was honest about her experiences.

It was all unnerving.

So when she finally got to meet her new patient, she found herself gaping.

Belladonna Pandora Potter was about the same size as the common five year old. Her skin was fair, her hair was messy and blacker than black, and her eyes were the oddest shade of green. Anne was certain they would glow in the dark if she shut all the lights off.

When the child stepped foot into her office, she looked around curiously, but also quietly. Not a sound was made.

The office was designed a certain way to appeal to many different types of children. Different sections were colour-coded and not one chair was the same. Nothing truly matched. It was just a hodgepodge of things and colours. Where each child was drawn to would help Anne get a feeling for the type of character they had.

So when she greeted the child and told her to sit where she'd like, she waited with interest.

Belladonna took a seat in the common brown chair in the center of the room. And across from it, was a common black chair. Both rested on a round, black and brown spotted flokati rug.

Making note of the girl's choice, Anne grabbed the plate of biscuits off her desk and brought them over. She always went to the bakery down the street before any appointment because sweets always tended to lighten children up a bit.

"Would you like some?" she asked with a small smile, trying to keep a distance in case Belladonna preferred her space.

The child's eyes widened. "I- I can  _have_  some?"

She sounded so shocked and confused that Anne had to do a few breathing exercises just to keep calm. So shocked that someone would offer her a sweet treat? The poor child.

"You can have the whole platter if you want them."

Said platter was placed on the small table beside the girl's chair, left within easy reach should she want any. She seemed to be internally warring with herself on whether she could actually have one, but finally, she caved and reached for the soft ones in front, that were covered in a chocolate drizzle.

The looked of amazement on her face let Anne know that this was the first time the child had ever had a biscuit.

She made another note in her notebook. She always started one whenever she got a new client. One specifically for them. Some clients ended up needing more than one book. She could tell that Belladonna was going to be one of those clients.

"As you may have been informed, my name is Anne Lucas. I am here to talk to you about anything and everything you wish to speak about. I've been told that you are quite the smart child. Would you say you're smart, Belladonna?"

The girl shrugged. "Intelligence is subjective."

She'd never heard a five year old use either word before.

"And since I don't even know basic stuff, I wouldn't really say I'm smart."

Humility or ingrained ignorance? That was the most important question.

"Ms. Marie told me that you taught yourself how to write all on your own. Most five year olds struggle with gripping their pencils and muscle memory. That takes intelligence and determination," Anne pointed out.

Belladonna, who had finished her first biscuit, stared down at her hands. "Cousin-  _my cousin_ , sorry, wasn't very good at it and he'd been practicing longer. I just thought he was stupid," she said frankly. "He didn't always gets things the first few times he tried."

So she was advanced but didn't know it. She simply thought she was common and that the only other child she'd been exposed to was sub-par.

"What are your opinions of your relatives, Belladonna?"

The child reached for another biscuit. This one was covered in caster sugar. "My uncle is a walrus. My aunt is a giraffe. My cousin is a baby whale. They are greedy."

Anne took that to mean that each individual resembled the animal of choice while the last comment was a general statement. "Was your cousin a little chubby?"

Belladonna nodded vigorously. "Aunt-  _my aunt_ , was angry the last time he came back from the doctor 'cause he was six stone and she was told it was her fault."

Good Lord. A five year old weighing that much. "So they let him eat often?"

She nodded again. "He's always eating food. And if he doesn't have some he whinges until they give him some."

Both children were grossly mistreated but to different extremes. One was overindulged and it was going to put him in an early grave. The other was never indulged and was rail thin. She was over a stone underweight according to the medical record Anne had been provided with.

She hoped fervently that these monsters were found. They deserved to get everything taken away from them, and their child needed rescuing before they got him killed due to their own foolishness.

"Do you have any hobbies, Belladonna?"

The girl on her fifth biscuit by now, but she was taking her time with each bite. "I draw. At first it was bad, but I'm okay now. I hide my drawings 'cause I stole from my cousin to get stuff to draw with."

An interest in art. That could be a good thing. It could be very helpful in centering the child and keeping her mind and hands busy.

Belladonna's head snapped around and her eyes lit up with a sudden interest. "Did you know that people come in other colours? I've only ever seen people who look like me before now. When I looked out the windows,  _everyone_  looked like me."

...The poor child. "Yes. Various shades too. You'll get to see them all one day, I'm sure."

"Wicked," was her awed whisper.

"Are you excited to begin school?"

"Ms. Marie says it'll be fun. I've never had fun so I'm not sure. What do you do at school?" the girl asked, eyes full of unconcealed curiosity.

This was a topic she could handle easily. "You meet other children. You learn your numbers and your alphabet. You get to have recess and lunch together. You'll learn an instrument no doubt. As you get older you'll get more classes. And you'll be introduced to other languages too."

With each thing on the list, green eyes got impossibly wider and wider with interest. That was a good thing. Children were usually receptive to knowledge. She only hoped that it continued well into her life and didn't trickle off because of society beating it out of her. Kids had the best imaginations and the most alacrity.

"I see you're interested."

Belladonna reached for another biscuit, but paused midway, and ended up lowering her hand.

"Is something wrong?" asked Anne, suddenly worried. Children didn't just stop eating sweets on their own after all.

"I'm fine," the girl shrugged. "I've just had eight and I think that's good. I'll spoil my dinner if I eat any more."

She'd never met a child who was concerned over spoiling their own dinner. Though she'd also never met a child that was forbidden food as a punishment. That kind of thing just wasn't done as routine anymore. Some still did it, but on the whole, people were beginning to understand how abusive that was.

"That's a very mature view to have, Belladonna."

"You know, you can call me Bella. That's what I call myself in my head," the child suggested, face straight and lacking emotion once again.

She was pretty open considering she was currently in the company of a stranger and her entire life was just turned on its head. She showed none of the reluctance or hesitance that Anne usually experienced from her patients within the first few sessions. She was to the point and honest. It was refreshing to say the least if a little sad since it came from an unfortunate place.

"Bella," Anne agreed with a grin. "Have you been settling into the orphanage well enough?"

"I now have a room of my own. I didn't get a room before so I'm happy. But I met some other kids and they're a bit... " she trailed off, looking disgruntled. "A bit messy. Loud. Rude. Annoying."

Ah. That would certainly be a problem. Advanced children always had a difficult time connecting with children not of similar mindsets. So because she was so mature for her age, Bella was struggling to handle other children in mass quantities because other five year olds were full of never-ending energy and excitement. And they liked to play and have fun and didn't really spend their time thinking about anything outside of their own interests.

She could forsee Bella having a stressful time getting acquainted with her peers.

"I wish you luck and offer this piece of advice. Don't push them away simply because you cannot tolerate them. It won't end well that way."

Bella looked intrigued but didn't ask anything of her.

And it was good she hadn't because their time was up the moment her timer went off.

"Would you like to take the biscuits with you?" Anne offered, gesturing to the tray. "I still have the box they came in."

Bella considered it for a moment, before nodding. "Please and thank you."

* * *

Her first day of school. Bella had come into the school year later than all the other students, but she was still forced to greet the entire class upon entering, and give her name and hobby to them.

"I'm Belladonna Potter and I like drawing."

To the point.

Ms. Marie had explained things. When at school, the teacher was in charge and the students listened to the teacher. If not, they received punishments like time-outs, detention, and no recess with the other children. Bella knew that the teacher, Ms. Heathers, was in charge.

Bella was guided to a large table where three other children were seated, looked at her with interest. The boy on her right was blond and had a finger in his nose. She leaned away from him a bit. The girl across from her had brown skin and plaited hair with big round glasses. And the girl next to her resembled Bella, but with box glasses.

She sighed quietly to herself, knowing this was going to be… different.

* * *

Other than recess, Bella preferred the music class the most. The rest of the classes were about things she knew already. She thought she would be behind everyone, but being able to write neatly already catapulted her ahead of her peers.

Enough so that Ms. Heathers actually gave Bella a drill book in order to practice her speech. Since she knew her letters already and could sound them out, she was to read the pages as quickly as possible to get her tongue and mouth used to forming the words themselves.

In music, they didn't really do much. There were tambourines, flutes, drums, and a keyboard in the far back of the room. They were told to grab the instrument they wanted and have fun. It was like Recess 2.0.

Bella was the only person to go to the keyboard, probably because it wasn't as loud as all the other instruments. There was tape on the keys, with letters from A-G, drawn in a repetitive pattern. The small booklet on the stand showed pictures of the keys and basically told her the same thing the tape did. She couldn't understand the big words yet, but she found herself interested in the piano anyway.

There were drawn hands showing where the fingers were supposed to go.

She sat down and proceeded to hit the keys.  **A-A-A-B-B-B-C-C-C-D-D-D-E-E-E-F-F-F-G-G-G**.

She ran her fingers over every key, committing each individual sound to memory. Instantly, she could hear so many little songs that she used to hear from her cousin's toys. Her fingers trailed over the keys again in search of the ones that reminded her of a particular song. She repeated parts over and over searching for the next sound while keeping the song fresh in her mind.

Bella found it quickly, and began fiddling until she was certain she had it. The tune was repeated over and over until she was certain she could look away from the keys while doing it. From there, she proceeded to find all the other songs she recognised.

When the class was over, Ms. Heathers asked if she liked the keyboard and offered her a book to learn more for it if she wanted. It was thin, and obviously meant for kids, but even if she didn't understand all the words, the pictures made enough sense.

Bella accepted the book with a smile. She was committed to memorising its contents by their next music class.

Her first day of school was okay.

* * *

Lily was frustrated. No matter what she and James tried, Prue seemed to show no interest in learning magic and numbers. She took to flying with ease, but everything else just showed no improvement. In fact she was wondering if perhaps it was the second part of the Twice-Blessed tradition. Healing was one thing, but they hadn't seen anything else from her.

She had noticed that whatever Prue put her mind to, was done almost flawlessly. Such as flying and football. She got the hang of both easily and outstripped her father on a broom already, which shouldn't be be possible considering she was only five. But it was truth. And she also learned English very quickly because it was the best way to communicate with her parents to let them know what she wanted.

But Lily could not get her to show an interest in learning academics or another language beside her mother tongue. She didn't care for maths and felt they were pointless.

Being Twice-Blessed was just as the name said. A twofold blessing from magic granted to children born at the same time, from the same mother. All other magical twins had been recorded to have two special abilities. So Prue had Healing and… Perfectionism?

Was there even a term for being good at something so long as you tried your hardest at it?

Aptitude perhaps? The power of Aptitude? Natural Aptitude?

It sounded ridiculous when she verbalised it, but it seemed to be the only thing that fit what she had witnessed! And if it was indeed the case, how was she going to motivate her child into actually trying to do her work? Threats of grounding didn't work since she could have just as much fun indoors as she could outdoors and the effort it would take to strip her room of everything entertaining wasn't worth it.

Also, the last time they tried to punish her, she laughed in their faces and told them they wouldn't be able to keep it up. She wasn't wrong. They caved within an hour of her crying to be set free.

Other than her two abilities… Prue had shown no magic. As soon as her sister was gone, she stopped trying with anything. Sometimes Lily wondered if maybe she missed Belladonna despite how mean she'd been to poor Prue.

Perhaps the loneliness was affecting her more than they thought it would.

Maybe a visit was in order so the girls could reconnect?

"Mum, Dad is taking me for ice cream!" Prue yelled into the window before taking off down the path.

Nah. Things were better this way. Prue was doing just fine without her bully of a sister around.

* * *

Bella was staring at her hands, completely enraptured. Just a moment ago, she had tripped over her shoe laces and scraped her palms on the cement. And the burn had been at most, irritating, but not enough to get a teacher.

However, as she stared at the slightly bleeding wounds, her eyes widened as one by one, the wounds closed up. And eventually all that was left behind, was bloodstained skin, but no injury in sight. She knew that she never really hurt for long if her cousin had pushed her around, but she didn't know she could do this!

Somehow she'd healed herself. And she wouldn't have thought it possible had she not witnessed it with her own eyes.

Should she tell Ms. Marie? She wasn't sure if it was a normal thing all people could do.

No. Bella was going to keep it to herself. She didn't what would happen if she spread the knowledge around and she didn't want to find out either.

Her hands did need a good washing though.

Bella avoided going outside during recess from that point onward just to be safe.

* * *

She was back for her fifth appointment with Ms. Anne. Once again, there were tonnes of biscuits for her to snack on and the chair she wanted was still in the same place, not that she expected the whole room to be changed around or anything. After her third appointment she was certain it would stay the same.

"Why don't we talk about your first week of school," Ms. Anne suggested, her clipboard and pen at the ready. She looked like she was actually interested in hearing what Bella had to say.

Bella nodded. "It was cool, but Ms. Heathers, my teacher, had to give me other work because I'm actually ahead of the others a bit."

"Does them being behind you annoy you?"

Did it? Bella got to do harder work to pass the time, so it wasn't like she was forced to do the same stuff as everyone else. They were all working at the same time just on different stuff.

"Not really. The kids at my table are a bit weird though. Adrien is blond and picks his nose all the time. Amara's skin is really dark brown and her eyes are purple I think. She loves saying ' _whatcha doin_ ' all the time and always has rice for lunch. Brielle looks like me and she wears chicken hair clips every day and tells anyone who looks at her about how she has all kinds of chickens at home."

Her aunt had always told her cousin that picking noses was dirty and gross. And since Bella often had to clean dirty things, she found Adrien gross. Especially since he kept wiping his fingers on their table afterwards!

Amara was the first brown-skinned person Bella had ever met. According to Ms. Marie, Amara Singh was Indian and her family was from far away. Her voice was squeaky and she liked rice. All kinds of rice. Bella hadn't  _known_  there were so many kinds of rice until Amara explained them to her.

Brielle lived on a farm that was pretty far from the school, and had to wake up early every day to feed her chickens. She was annoying because all she did was talk about chickens. You couldn't look at her for a second before she thought it was an open invitation to impart chicken trivia on you.

Bella had learned that some chickens could lay eggs every day.

"Do you have a favourite subject?" asked Ms. Anne.

"Music."

"Oh! What have you gotten to do in music class?"

"Well, they just let us grab whatever and make noise with it. But I saw the keyboard and decided to try it, and Ms. Heathers gave me a book to learn how to play better. And I've memorised it by now and can do my  _scales_  and  _arpeggios_  already."

Ms. Anne's eyes went wide, just like Ms. Heathers' had when Bella had come in and told her she'd memorised the book. And then demonstrated that she had when asked to. As such, she was given the second book for Beginners and told that she was doing well. She was now on the third book.

"So I take it that you like the keyboard and might be interested in doing more serious study some day?" asked Ms. Anne.

"Yes. They make such pretty sounds. I like them more than the drums and tambourines everyone else was using. No one cares much for the flutes, but I think it's because you need good breath and it's more fun for them to bang on loud stuff."

Bella had cleaned off a flute during her second class and determined within five minutes that she didn't like it much because she couldn't hold notes for very long without having trouble breathing.

"Piano can be a good hobby to take up. I wish you luck."

"Thanks."

"Moving on. Have you made any friends yet?"

This was where Bella had to flush and shake her head. Ms. Anne had urged her to try and find a friend during her last session, but Bella wasn't very good at talking to other children. She'd only had her cousin before this and whether at the orphanage or at the school, she just couldn't be around other kids without getting annoyed.

"No, Ms. Anne. All the other kids want to go outside and play games and I want to sit indoors and read. And they're loud. And messy."

How was she going to like someone who liked different things than she did?

"I thought you  _wanted_  to go outside and play though."

Bella huffed. "Outside is okay I guess. I wanted to go out because I wasn't allowed to. I think- I mean,  _maybe_  I prefer being able to go outside when  _I_  want, than just being told I can't ever do it. Does that make sense? I don't really want to go outside anymore, but I still can  _choose_  if I do or not, you know."

Ms. Anne nodded. "It makes perfect sense, Bella."

Oh, good. Sometimes things made sense in her head but when she explained them out loud, they got lost in translation.

* * *

"Moony, do you ever wonder what is going on in Bella's life?" Sirius asked, a bottle of Firewhiskey hanging loosely in his grip. "I mean, we know she's with those two arseholes, but do you think she's at least being taken care of?"

Remus sighed and shook his head. "No. You remember how Lily used to cry over her sister's horrible words. I wouldn't expect any form of genuine kindness from the woman. All we can do is hope that when Bella's Hogwarts letter is delivered, we'll finally be able to meet her again and get the information we need from her."

Waiting was killing them. Sure, they were halfway there, but another five years of waiting just to see their goddaughter once again, was going to be hell.

Not one mention of Belladonna Pandora Potter anywhere in the muggle world. They'd cast all sorts of location charms. Sirius even performed a ritual of questionable origin, but couldn't get a lock on her position. Meaning Lily and James probably did something to further muck up their link to her. And Lily was very talented in Runes and Charms, which were Sirius' weakness.

She was supposed to have started muggle primary the year prior, but her name didn't come up in the hundreds of schools they'd checked in England _(Petunia's family lived in England or so Lily had told them years back)_. It was like she didn't exist.

Sirius held up his bottle, and Remus clinked his own against it.

"Many happy returns, Bella. Wherever you are."

* * *

When Bella woke up that morning, it was to the sight of a box on her desk. Her room came with a desk, a chair, a bed, and a small dresser that she didn't have many clothes to put in it. The box on the desk was crisp and white compared to the old, scratched wood.

When she opened it, she found herself staring at a mini cake with her nickname scrawled on the front in green gel that she was sure was edible.

It was her birthday and she was six. She'd never gotten a gift before. Never gotten a cake either. She'd never even  _had_  cake before, and it made her even more excited to get her own for the first time.

The note inside said that all the kids in the orphanage got a personalised cake on their birthday because there wasn't enough money to buy enough cake to feed all the children every time. She could understand seeing as there were several hundred kids on the premises and parties were expensive.

Bella was just happy to get something at all. Her first birthday gift.

She should eat first though. And with that, she pushed the cake away and went to the dresser for one of the two uniforms she'd been given. They were not hers to keep by any means. Many had worn them before her, and many would wear them after her, so it was important to keep them as clean as possible so they remained presentable.

The uniform was dull and grey, and the white stockings and button-down shirt had also begun to grey a bit because of great age. And the children all looked like they'd stepped out of photos from the fifties. It was ugly but it was an outfit that actually fit her size, so she couldn't complain.

Bella made sure to stop by the main office in order to thank Ms. Marie for the cake. The woman smiled and told her that she'd been very good lately and that she deserved a treat of her own. She promised that it was double chocolate too.

With a spring in her step, Bella made her way to the mess hall where children of all ages were seated for breakfast. The various tables were rectangular and long, seating several at a time. The children naturally broke themselves up into groups by certain age. And within those age groups, where smaller groups of friends who messed around rather than ate their food.

While she didn't often linger in the hall, she still had to eat and they weren't allowed to take anything from the kitchens outside the hall itself. As such, she always ate fast to avoid other children. Though it wasn't like people talked to her anyway.

"Hey look, it's Potter!" someone with a very squeaky voice, called out.

Correction. Someone had decided to talk to her now of all days.

She frowned, looking around for the one to possess such an unfortunate voice, and found a girl who was a full head taller than Bella, standing off to the side with a group of girls standing behind her. None of them looked friendly in the least. They looked like the boys her cousin would play with.

Bella almost sighed, but managed to hold it in. She was about to face a 'gang'. She'd watched her cousin from the window in his bedroom once, while he and a group of his friends picked on the other children in the 'neighborhood'. And they had all acted like the girls in front of her was too.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can," the main girl with bright red hair and dark brown eyes, said with a sneer. "You got the room I wanted. I'd been waiting for it and then you had to come along and take it. Either leave, or I'll make you."

"How 'bout you tell Ms. Marie about it since she's the one who put me there," Bella suggested, turning away in order to get her own food. As if Bella had control over where she could sleep. Dumbest thing she'd ever heard.

Obviously, the redhead didn't appreciate being ignored because a second later, she roughly grabbed Bella's hair and yanked hard.

Bella was no stranger to pain. Her cousin had pulled her hair before, so it wasn't new. She had never been confronted by a group of girls though, and wasn't so sure if she should punch first and ask questions later, or just talk her way out of it.

The pulling persisted and Bella decided that it was enough. Turning, she reached out with both free hands and grabbed the girl's own hair. The difference between them being that for some reason, Bella's strength overcame the other girl and she had her forced to her knees in seconds, gasping in pain as she released Bella's hair, struggling to free herself.

"I think I said you should talk to Ms. Marie, right?" Bella asked, voice low with anger. Leaning in, so her words could remain quiet, she said, "That doesn't mean you put your hands on me. Touch me again and I will make you hurt."

She let go and waited for the gasping girl to get to her feet while sending the group of gaping friends an expectant look. "Well?"

They scattered immediately, and Bella could feel an odd sense of accomplishment from it.

She wasn't like those children back at her cousin's house. She could stand up to kids who picked on her. She wasn't weak.

And she liked it!

No one else bothered her after that.

Of course that also meant she didn't make any friends either. Ms. Anne would understand surely.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella learns about figure skating and makes a decision for her future. Some adults however, have other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -If you can't handle that a character is going to have a background  
> with new information, then don't continue reading. Certain readers  
> decided to continue reading despite not wanting to deal with the  
> 'filler chapters'. I don't know why you expected something else  
> after reading my very first Author Note and tags, but if you decided  
> to read on, then that's on you. Don't take your bitchy attitude out on  
> me.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Bella's year at school was going on a trip. A trip that didn't need money because it was to a local ice rink and the rink had offered a free day to the students of her year. Apparently it was something they did annually for every Year 2 group, and since she was now in her second year, she got to go.

She was excited because it sounded fun and the older students had good things to say about it. She'd never seen skating before, but there were pictures in the books in her classroom.

Each student was given a 'buddy' to stay with. Bella got Amara and found herself glad it wasn't Brielle. She'd already memorised every bit of information on chickens that Brielle knew, and Brielle didn't seem to realise that she'd repeated herself a lot.  _Anyone_  could understand why she was glad she didn't get Adrien.

The building was a big and white, and the children entered in a single-file line.

They were each measured and then given a pair of skates to use for the time being. Bella's were white. In fact, all of the girls had white skates and all the boys had black skates **[1]**.

They were warned ahead of time that if they fell, they were not to put their hands on the ice ever. The blades on the skates were sharp and they could lose fingers that way. Then they were each given a chair that they had to use for balance so they didn't fall over while learning how to move.

Some students were already familiar with skates, having gone skating with their families already. Others kept falling.

Amara and Bella shared a chair that they pushed along, trying to get the hang of the movements of pushing off and gliding. Immediately, it was as if Bella could do it without a problem, while Amara remained clutching the chair like a lifeline.

Cautiously, she let the other girl go on ahead, while she practiced moving and getting a feel for the blades. She saw another few kids fall on their butts, and wondered how they couldn't hold their balance. She'd managed it just fine. A kid to her left was complaining about her ankles shaking too much. They were literally quaking as she tried to stay upright.

Amara had gotten far ahead on her own, and Bella carefully pushed off in her direction. Within seconds she was back at her 'buddy's' side, though the girl didn't seem to notice she had gone. She was too busy trying not to fall.

"How do you do it?" the girl finally asked.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to do it, and then I could do it. It feels… normal." She had a feeling that wasn't the right word but she couldn't think of another in that moment.

She accompanied the girl around the rink several more times, becoming daring as she learned how to turn in small circles and even skate backward. She also wondered if rollerblading was the same or not. It had to be less dangerous since small wheels couldn't hold a candle to blades.

The biggest challenge of the entire trip was avoiding all the other children in the rink, which was luckily large enough to have little pockets of space here and there for her to navigate through.

Her time on the ice ended up being more fun than all the times she played the school's keyboard put together. There was a tingling feeling in her gut when she moved faster, and the sense of accomplishment that accompanied it made her feel awesome. It was so much better than the keyboard!

"You're really good," the woman in charge of giving out the skates told her when she handed her pair in a couple hours later. "Have you been training long?"

"I've never been skating before," Bella admitted. "It's fun."

The dropped jaw made her giggle a bit, because it was kind of funny to see people get so shocked every time she ended up being good at something on the first try or so. And since a lot of people struggled to skate, she had a feeling it was especially cool that she managed it too. See, even Bella was special in some ways. Her cousin could go suck a rotten egg.

"We give lessons here if you're interested," the woman finally said after a few seconds of staring.

Bella had to squash the hope in her chest. "I'm an orphan, miss. I'm not sure we could get me here let alone be able to pay for lessons. The orphanage isn't doing well with money, though Ms. Marie tries to keep the other kids unaware of it." Bella only knew it it because she'd overheard a conversation with Ms. Selene that she technically shouldn't have heard but that was neither here nor there.

The woman considered her words for a moment. "Which orphanage is it, dear?"

"Albright Memorial Orphanage in London."

"And your name?"

She was more hesitant this time. "Belladonna Potter."

The woman nodded. "I'll see what I can do, kid. Don't worry."

When Bella returned to the orphanage that day, it was to find Ms. Marie waiting for her to ask her about her time at the rink and to get her opinion on taking lessons in return for helping out with some cleaning in return.

The woman from the rink, Deborah, had actually called the orphanage and talked to Ms. Marie about it. And she offered to pick Bella up from school and bring her to the orphanage when the rink closed on the days she'd go in for lessons, which would be every other day.

Of course other people had to be contacted and permission had to be given, according to Ms. Marie, but if all went well, Bella would be getting lessons in figure skating soon.

She was used to learning on her own. In music she believed there was no true right or wrong way to do something. If it sounded the same in the end, who cared how the result came to be? At least that was what Bella told herself.

Skating wasn't something she could teach herself though. So getting free lessons would be amazing! And since it was ten times more fun than the keyboard, she knew it would be even better!

"Would you like to take these lessons, Bella?" asked Ms. Marie quietly, eyes wide with interest.

"Yes."

* * *

"Okay class, I have an important announcement," said Ms. Peterson, their new teacher. "The school talent show is coming up and the sign up sheets are going to be passed out before you leave today. If you wish to sign up, and your guardian approves, they must sign the paper first, and then you'll sign your name after them. They can show you what to do."

Did Bella have any talents?

She could play the keyboard now. Recently she'd taken to memorising the songs already recorded on it. And thankfully, it taught her the keys thanks to the little screen in the center. She could play Moonlight Sonata now without having to look down to make sure her hands were placed correctly. It was an improvement that she felt was important.

Yes, Ms. Marie wouldn't mind if she signed up, right? Other children in the orphanage would no doubt want to enter and it could be a good experience. Ms. Anne was always telling her to ' _open up and seek new things_ '. This could be a good way to do that.

Bella hadn't even done something in front of a crowd though, so she wasn't too sure how she'd feel doing that.

* * *

"How has your week been, Bella?" Anne asked, eyes focused on the child before her as she snacked on a biscuit like usual.

"Ms. Marie has given the orphans who want to, permission to enter the talent show at school. I'm going to play the keyboard."

Interesting. That could be something fun and exciting to add to her experiences. "Is there a prize?" Meaning, is it a contest disguised as a talent show? So many schools did that. Anyone could attend the show, and seeing children displaying abilities above their level tended to get people interested in the school itself. Sometimes enough to send their children there personally. Or make donations. Or all of the above.

"First gets £50. Second gets £25. Third gets £10. Everyone else will get a sticker."

Because stickers were  _so great_ , right? She was internally scoffing over the foolishness of schools these days. Participation trophies were a ridiculous thing in her opinion. And usually it wasn't the children who wanted them, it was the parents. All to feel better about themselves because of their fragile egos.

"Have you chosen a song to play?"

Bella nodded. "I thought about it. Something to show skills a six year old normally doesn't have, but that will also pander to the audience a bit. I went with Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. There was a book of sheet music for the song at the school's library and I decided to learn it. Ms. Marie let me listen to it on her computer to get an idea of it and I think I've done it right."

That would do it. Anne was shocked that Bella could comprehend such a thing as pandering, but remembered that the child was unnaturally brilliant and capable of much that other children weren't. Probably because her new favourite reading material was a thesaurus of all things, and she was only a quarter of the way through it so far.

A beloved song that practically everyone knew would surely do the pandering for her so long as she played it well enough. She was only minutely concerned over the girl's ability to do it. There were often musically inclined children all over the world who could do more taxing things that the Bohemian Rhapsody at younger ages, so Anne was simply hoping that Bella was as good as she said she was.

"Anything of else of interest?" Anne asked as she made some notes to keep track of. Specifically, seeing how Bella's performance went. Subjecting children to such scrutiny like that of an audience, from a young age, could either be really good or really bad. It depended on each child involved and the circumstances therein.

"My class got to go ice skating and I was good enough for a lady to offer me classes. Ms. Marie agreed and I'll start next week, every other day, so long as I help clean up the building before it closes, when we're finished."

It was like the piano all over again. It seemed that if Bella decided to do something, it would get done one way or another. Anne was certain she'd never been on skates before, but she had somehow managed to do so well that she was offered free classes on how to improve, and the offer was accepted.

A new hobby would be good. And perhaps she might meet others in the class and have an easier time interacting with them if they all shared a common interest. It could be a great way to open up to other individuals. Bella wasn't doing so well with her fellow orphans nor her fellow classmates. Her peers weren't as developmentally ahead as she was, which made it difficult to connect with them.

This was often misinterpreted as being 'gifted'. Bella was talented, true, but praising children for something that was common once they reached their teens, helped no one in the end. And being ahead developmentally wasn't helping much because her social skills were lacking terribly, making her come off as a loner type that no one felt pressured to get to know.

Skating lessons could be good.

"Are you thinking of becoming a figure skater?" Anne asked as she made some more notes in her book.

Bella's head tilted to the side. "What's that?"

Of  _course_  she wouldn't know enough about it! It was foolish of Anne to assume! Not television experience was under the girl's belt!

Setting the notebook aside, she stood in order to retrieve her laptop from the desk. Typing in  **'Olympic figure skating 2006 win'** , she chose the first video that popped up, which was of Shizuka Arakawa, the recent Olympic gold medalist for the Ladies.

" _This_  is figure skating," she said, turning the volume up and placing the laptop on the table beside Bella's chair. "She is the first Japanese figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. **[2]** "

She watched as Bella stared at the video, looking completely enraptured. And that was the moment she knew that Belladonna Pandora Potter, had decided what she wanted to do with her life.

"I'm going to be like that one day," the little girl vowed with surety, not even looking up as she clicked the replay button.

And the thing was, Anne had no doubt about it.

* * *

The crowd that turned up to watch the show ended up filling the school's auditorium. There were people from a local news station, and someone for the local paper. A lot of people wanted to see a bunch of primary students do random stuff for three hours. It was almost improbable, but seeing as they were all out there already, she knew it was true.

Ms. Peterson clapped her hands in order to get the attention of the faculty and students. She was one of the organisers for the show and had decided that the oldest students would go first, which left Bella in the very last grouping of people who would go out and perform.

In the corner, a ten year old was crying himself into a panic attack and another teacher was trying to calm him down and telling him he could back out if he didn't want do go on stage. Elsewhere, kids were encouraging each other to do their best.

The oldest kid in the school was eleven, and he was in the show and was going to do magic tricks he'd been practicing. He boasted about how he was going to win and that no one could keep up with him. In Bella's opinion, he wouldn't make it. Not for lack of talent, since she didn't know if he had any skill or not, but because of the way the show was set up.

Youngest last in person, meant first in mind. Since Bella was the very last student on the list, her performance would be the most memorable while the boy was the first and after three hours, he'd be easily forgotten. In fact, Bella wondered if Ms. Peterson set it up this way because Bella's whole year knew she was good on the keyboard and most didn't want to enter the talent show because of that reason alone.

Ms. Peterson had been very  _adamant_  about Bella learning more things on the piano and had brought more and more sheet music for her to learn. Books on finger exercises. Books on classical songs. The woman appeared to be very invested in Bella's skill. She was always asking about it and always giving Bella permission to practice whenever she wanted.

Whatever the reason, Bella was certain the boy would not win because the odds were stacked against him.

Minutes passed as child after child went on stage. Bella could tell the difference between the clapping. Sometimes it was robotic, meaning it wasn't honest but the audience didn't want to hurt the child's feelings. Other times it was explosive. She made note of the children who got such a reaction.

One girl had sang  **[I Will Always Love You]**  and had done a very good job. Another girl performed a routine she was practicing during her gymnastics training. People tended to be amazed by things they didn't expect children to be capable of. Bella hoped the tweaked version of the sheet music she'd memorised, was enough to impress people too. Her hands were small and she had to work double time in order to get every key at the proper moment.

Eventually, she had to go on stage, and she ended up wheeling the school's lone keyboard out by herself, a collapsible chair folded under her arm. The audience laughed a little, since both were considerably bigger than she was, but she took that as a good thing. It endeared them to her.

Once she was certain everything was situated and the keyboard was plugged into the spot toward very front of the stage, she sat. The stand had been angled, as she had been advised by Ms. Peterson, toward the audience so they could see both her playing, as well as the keys.

"Sing along if you know it," was her only warning.

Bohemian Rhapsody began at a moderate pace, and it took only ten seconds before applause sounded throughout the room. They caught on a lot faster than she had expected them to, and it made it all the better when they decided to join along. It made it more memorable for them.

There was something in hearing so many people sing along that made her a bit emotional, but she managed to continue just fine.

And of course the audience split themselves perfectly on the opposing parts, everyone seeming to know which parts they preferred to sing the most. And it worked so well too!

The high-pitched and chorus of ' **ME!** ' was something else, but everyone tried their hardest and that was the point. It was a fun song for a reason. And it was the best pandering one she could come up with on short notice.

Needless to say the response when the song finished, was what she'd wanted it to be.

And she ended up winning the £50.

It was a great night, and she looked forward to any other talent shows that she'd get to perform in.

* * *

Apparently, Bella's performance in the talent show gained her some popularity. First, she found out that a few articles were in the paper about the talent show, and she was at the very center of all of them. There were photos of her at the keyboard and a description of the events. People were apparently very impressed and several comments from those who had watched all had good things to say.

That wasn't even the extent of it though. A video was taken by the local news station and put on their YouTube channel for people to see. And they weren't the only ones to take a video. Multiple, grainy versions of her performance were everywhere and ended up having a greater impact than she expected since it was just a song on the piano.

Meaning, many people had come by professing an interest in adopting her. But Bella wasn't one to be so blinded by the hope of leaving the only decent place she'd ever been in, unlike the other children who claimed she was lucky. She knew that there was something behind their reasoning.

Her local fame had shot up overnight, but she could tell that none of the people who came to the orphanage in search of her, wanted  _her_  specifically. They wanted to manipulate her little bit of fame, and possibly turn her into some weird powerhouse of musical genius so they could profit off of her skills. And with the amount of people all wanting to adopt her for that reason alone, Bella was unnerved.

Thankfully, the government had certain restrictions and expectations that people must go through in order to adopt children, and a lot of the people who had come, also had to go because they didn't qualify in some way or another. The few that remained, would have to undergo background checks, and wait months before they would be allowed to adopt a child at all, let alone Bella Potter.

Ms. Marie had apologised over being unable to just let her get adopted, but Bella didn't mind, because she wanted someone to genuinely want  _her_. Someone who wanted to help her reach her own goals and not what the person  _thought_  she should be reaching for instead. Bella wanted to have a choice in her own destiny and no one was going to decide that for her, but herself. Their obsessive focus on using her piano skills made her a little resentful too. Trying to turn something fun into something loveless. It was all about greed.

She was going to be a figure skater. If anything, she'd need someone interested in the sport in order to properly mesh with them. No one would ever truly understand her otherwise. Thankfully, Deborah at the ice rink, seemed to understand her desire when she'd blurted it out during her first lesson. She got what Bella wanted and didn't think it odd that a six year old would be aware of her plans for the future already. Apparently, an old friend of hers had been the same way years ago.

Bella was to learn the basics along with a couple other children in the small class, and had already begun learning Level 3 manoeuvres  **[3]**. Since she got classes every other day no matter the day, she had more time to dedicate to muscle memory. But it wasn't just that- that she had to do.

Ms. Deborah had stressed that being stretched out was the most important thing and had first taught her how to warm up so she didn't hurt herself on accident. And according to the books she'd borrowed from the school library, flexibility was incredibly important to figure skaters, so Bella decided that every morning she would wake a little earlier than usual, and begin her stretches then.

Who said she could only practice at the rink after all?

She was secretly aiming to fit both feet behind her head and was more than halfway there already.

As for additional training, Bella was going to have to find some way to move on from what she had currently. If she wanted to make a career of competitive figure skating one day, she would need money. The term the books used was ' _sponsorships_ ' but that was basically the same thing. People to give her money in exchange for publicity later on in her career.

The reason sponsors were necessary was because any kind of sport that required skates, was expensive. The skates of good quality could be hundreds of pounds alone. Not to mention clothing, music, coaching fees, and possibly other things on top of all of that.

The most important thing she would need first, was a coach. Coaches were people who had a past in the sport of choice and knew the ropes and could be incredibly helpful in building someone up.

Bella was only six and she didn't know enough about the world yet, let alone business. So she had to study more in the future, and plan accordingly so things fell into place properly. And she had to get a coach who could help her succeed in more than just skating. Skating was only half the battle. Forming connections and a support base was the other half, or so she had read.

She was ready to give it her all.

* * *

"You want to let her join the Chudley Cannons when she turns eleven, are you mad?" Lily demanded of her husband the moment he stepped foot in the door. Just what was he thinking, telling Prue that she could be a professional Quidditch player at the age of eleven? She would only be a child!

James didn't seem to see what was so wrong with it apparently. "They're offering us a lot of money though, Lils. Her name on their team would surely bring them more notoriety and we both knows she's really good. She could play professionally  _now_  and get away with it if it weren't for the stupid law."

"She will be in  _school_!" protested Lily. "Something she hasn't seemed to do very well at yet. She'll need all the time in the world to get used to it. Besides, if she's a member of a professional team, the Hogwarts R &R say she cannot compete on a school team because it would be an unfair advantage over the other students."

"Professional is more impressive than a measly school game, Lils. She'll do fine. We'll all benefit in the end."

Except she was certain that Prue would  _not_  benefit. She still wasn't interested in schooling and still couldn't even write her own name yet. She made no effort to pay attention when Lily tried to instruct her on the basics that other magical children were already learning.

Even Molly Weasley's son Ronald, who was Prue's best friend, had to stay in her home-taught classes every day and wasn't allowed to come over until he'd finished the work she put her children through. Even the Weasley boy was further ahead than her daughter was.

And he showed more magic than she did too, not that anyone but Lily seemed to notice.

"I don't want her joining a professional team when she's too young," Lily insisted, trying to keep the argument going for the possibility of coming out right hopefully.

James huffed. "Then  _you_  get to tell her why she can't, and  _you_  get to deal with the inevitable explosion."

Damn. He knew that neither of them wanted to deal with Prue's many tantrums, and this was how he'd gotten around her. If Lily said no, it would make her look like the bad guy in the scenario because daddy would give Prue what she wanted but mummy wouldn't.

In that moment, a dark seed of resentment appeared within Lily. James kept going behind her back and making decisions without her. Who was he to dictate what happened to her daughter without even consulting her? How dare he think he could do what he wanted! He was  _not_  her only parent!

All the while, Lily never realised that the very problem she was experiencing, was the very same one she and her husband had caused for Sirius when they sent his goddaughter _(whom he was legally the third parents of)_  away.

Lily never noticed how karma was coming back around slowly but surely.

* * *

"Do you think Bella gets to celebrate Christmas?"

That was Black's voice. Severus did an immediate about face because he did not want to deal with Black in any capacity if he could help it.

"She probably doesn't even get to celebrate anything at all. You know how Lily's sister was over Lily having magic. Do you really think she'd let Bella, the child of her despised, magical sister, have any part in celebrations?"

That was Lupin, and his words caused Severus to freeze in place, unable to stop himself from gaping.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Turning right back around, Severus stalked further into the room, shocking both men who hadn't known he'd entered, as he demanded, "Are you saying that Lily gave her eldest daughter to  _Tuney_  of all people?"

Black and Lupin shared a worried look, before Lupin slowly nodded. "Yes, Severus. Bella has been gone for five years."

Severus thought back to all the annoying articles from the happy family. How often they commented on why their other child was never around. They claimed she was studious and preferred to be at home. They had been lying for years.

"Why?"

Black exhaled a breath that seemed make his entire body flatten. "According to them, Bella has no magic, which is utter shite since I had seen her levitate her own toys before. But they claimed only Prunella could do magic and that Bella was picking on her for it because she was jealous. Lily claimed Bella was a bully and would be better off with Petunia whom she was more like."

So many emotions welled up within him. He wanted to deny it. Lily wasn't like that. She couldn't be like that. She was smarter than that! But the fact was, the woman who paraded her youngest about and gobbled up the fame the family received like it was nothing, was not the same girl he'd met in Cokeworth.

She was different these days. So it was entirely possible.

"Lily forced her own experiences with Petunia, onto a one year old's shoulders," he murmured, completely horrified by the thought of someone giving away their child for ' _not having magic_ '. And if Black was correct, she did have magic and they were just blinded by their own stupidity.

Being married to Potter had ruined her as a person. Then again, she was the one gullible enough to think that James Potter had miraculously changed when he actually continued to be a bully well up to graduation. He simply got better at hiding it and she never knew or noticed the effects it had on the students who weren't Severus.

He was disappointed, because for years he'd lifted her up on a pedestal. He used her as an example of someone he should be, but knew he could never manage. Lily had been the light in the darkness during his childhood and teen years, and it seemed like the supposed kindness that had once drawn him in like a moth to a flame, had been snuffed out by greed, anger, and selfishness. And maybe bitterness.

"You don't know where the girl is, do you?" he asked after a few minutes of thinking.

Both men shook their heads.

Black huffed. "It's why we don't get on anymore. I'm legally, through blood adoption, the third parent of the twins, but they went behind my back. So all those little scandals over James that have made it to the papers in the past few years, are because of me conveniently releasing information at the proper moment. He shouldn't have tried to keep a Black's child from him."

Not much of Black was anything like his family, but in that moment, he resembled his cousin Bellatrix more than Severus would ever like to admit.

* * *

It was Christmas. Children in the orphanage each got one gift for the holiday. When Bella woke up that morning, it was to a large present wrapped in newspaper since it was cheaper to use than buying wrapping paper. She didn't mind, because she was getting a present and that was the best part about it!

The gift was reasonably long and contained a new bag for her to use. It could hold her school books and then some. It was green, her favourite colour, and had her initials BPP, sewn into the front. It was also half her size and she could wear it different ways while traveling.

Once she was dressed, Bella made her way down to the entrance hall in order to thank Ms. Marie personally for the gift. Ms. Marie patted her head and told her that it was the least she could do to lessen Bella's load every day.

The snow outside had finally stopped, but wasn't as high as the other children wanted it. They could have snowball fights if they wanted to risk the cold weather, but couldn't do much else. And it wasn't the kind of snow that would get school canceled once the hols were over. Maybe a delay if they were lucky, but classes were still on.

She never understood the dislike for learning that most children she met, had. She thought it was fun. She couldn't understand the desire to play contact sports though. There was no appeal there. She also didn't fancy board games and Cluedo was boring despite how dramatic it got.

Christmas dinner wasn't as great as she had been used to seeing her relatives have on Christmas, but it was better than the usual food. Half of whatever they got came from donations for the holiday, and people wanting to give back a little. There were usually a lot of tinned vegetables to go around, but meat was usually limited to one slice a child unless a child didn't want any.

Bella had heard stories of other orphanages where the cooks didn't know how to use spices and ended up making super bland food all the time. Thankfully, Ms. Selene, who was the head of all kitchen duties, had been a chef for many years before she had decided to do something different in her life.

She did the best with what she had.

After dinner, Bella stayed up studying one of the books she'd gotten at the library. This was a thesaurus. They were very useful because they helped expand her vocabulary. She hadn't realised how stilted her speech was when she'd first come to the orphanage. Apparently, her aunt and uncle had deliberately stunted her growth in more ways than one, in hopes of making her appear stupid.

Often times she was told not to get smart with them, or that she'd never measure up to her cousin's intelligence. As she looked back on it now, he was a bloody moron and her relatives were trying to push down her desire for knowledge in order to make their lacklustre son look better. Which failed constantly.

Ms. Anne was the one to suggest the thesaurus, and it had quickly become Bella's companion. There were so many feelings and so many words to explain the micro-feelings people experienced on the daily. Such as jubilation and joy basically meaning the same thing, but to different extremes.

Bella wanted to get smarter and better, as quickly as possible. She didn't want what her relatives had done to her, to haunt her forever. Even though some day it wouldn't and that would be the day she no longer had to visit Ms. Anne, she still wanted that day to come soon.

Her advancement wasn't going to be impeded anymore.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> [[1]](https://www.thoughtco.com/girls-and-boys-figure-skates-1281767) Normally, girls get white skates and boys get black  
>  skates in figure skating. Rentals at rinks these days can  
> vary in color, but this chapter takes place in 2006 and I  
> am not so sure how that was back then. So I stuck to  
> the black and white standard.
> 
> [[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizuka_Arakawa) Shizuka Arakawa was indeed the Olympic Champion  
> in 2006. She was the 1st Japanese skater to win the gold  
> in the Olympics.
> 
> [[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ice_Skating_Association) Level 3 refers to certain skills that those training in  
> figure skating, must learn before moving to Level 4.  
> There are 10 Levels in the Skate UK section. They must  
> be completed before moving on to Skate UK Star Levels.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The life of an intelligent seven year old can be very stressful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I am not British. I am from America. I know so much shit about our  
> figure skating. Requirements, levels, exams, scoring. Things are not  
> the same in Britain though. So I have to educate myself on their info  
> too. So bear with me as I also learn the differences between Britain  
> and America's takes on figure skating.
> 
> -Next chapter is a big time skip!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Some time after the New Year, a situation arose at school that simply couldn't be ignored. Mostly because she was in the thick of it because of another kid. And nothing like this had ever happened before so Bella had been unsure of how to react outwardly.

Said kid was an orphan just like her and as such, they were in the same class and lived on the same floor in the orphanage. Bella had a habit of walking around with a book and was never seen doing homework in the study like other kids, despite her homework always being done. But that didn't mean she didn't do it, not that said kid understood that. There were desks in all the rooms for a reason. Bella made use of hers all the time.

They'd had an exam to test their knowledge on maths. Bella had received a perfect score as usual and spent the rest of her time reading her thesaurus which was the only book she was still interested in enough to keep reading. All of the other books she'd started ended up being super lame and not much of a challenge. She had finally moved onto the J words as was trying to work out how to pronounce ' _jocular_ ' when it happened. One child in her class did not like that she was so quick to finish her work, and decided to make a complaint. Loudly. In front of the whole class. Causing a scene that kind of made her just want to wither away inside.

"She cheats!" the blond boy claimed, pointing angrily her way as if he hoped to hurt her. She didn't know his name and didn't care to learn it either. She only knew that he never participated in class and tended to goof off with his tablemates and talk about video games that he wished he could play but couldn't because of the whole orphan thing.

Ms. Peterson had cocked a brow at him and asked, "How would you know that, Johnathan Weatherby?" His name was John apparently. "You're all the way over there, and your seat isn't even  _facing_  Isabella."

"She never studies but always gets the best grades. She's cheating." In a way it wasn't too farfetched, Bella could admit. If they don't see someone doing the work, of course they'd doubt her.

But on the other hand, it was announced that Bella was given harder work in most of their classes. So they should all be aware of that fact.

After a few seconds, Ms. Peterson told everyone to stop what they were doing, because she was going to do a multiplication drill.

"You both will answer rapid fire," she said, looking down at a notepad in her hand as she quickly wrote rote some things down. "I'll be using knowledge that Ms. Potter has advanced to in the work I've given her, just to see if she's truly undeserving of her grades."

An air of worry filled the room. The other kids looked around, obviously feeling uncomfortable as they realised what was going to happen. The tension had risen within seconds and Bella straightened in order to focus all her attention on their teacher.

"9 x 8!"

"Seventy-two," Bella said immediately. No one even breathed.

"8 x 3 + 3!"

"Twenty-seven," Bella answered again.

"4 x √9!"

"Twelve."

"110 x 3 + 4!"

"Three hundred and thirty-four."

As expected, her opponent could not provide the answers, proving that Bella was already ahead of him in maths. Their class had only recently started simple multiplication back in September, but Bella was also doing things like long division and square roots. She liked maths almost as much as music. The rest of their classes were boring unfortunately so she didn't really care to get that far ahead in them. Enough to do her homework but no actual effort was being put into it so she was only a month ahead in the rest of the classes she was in.

'John's' face was turning red as he was embarrassed by his lack of knowledge on something he wasn't even taught yet. It was kind of unfair actually, if Bella considered it more deeply. Shouldn't they have been quizzed on stuff they  _both_  knew? It was giving Bella an unfair advantage so to speak. Ms. Peterson seemed to make that a habit recently.

"I think we can all agree that Ms. Potter knows her material. If you bothered to try in class, Mr. Weatherby, then you wouldn't be struggling so much. Ms. Potter asked for harder material, and that is why she finished the common exam faster. Do not make baseless accusations. Jealousy gives you nothing but unhappiness."

Bella didn't want to skip grades yet, which was why she was given more difficult work than her fellows but not enough to skip a grade. She planned on skipping eventually, but for the most part, now was not the time. She needed the easy work of her normal schooling because she had a busy schedule with the skating lessons thrown in.

Bella took the same exams as everyone still, which was why she finished early. She had already passed such a level.

Feeling the urge for the first time in her life, she turned and stuck her tongue out at the rude boy. It was as Ms. Peterson said though. If he actually tried instead of giggling over video games every day with his friends, then he wouldn't feel so inadequate. Even if he didn't know what Bella knew already, he still wouldn't seem so unimpressive.

* * *

It was Prue's birthday and the entire lounge was filled with presents of all sorts. James had gone all out for his little girl and had splurged until he was satisfied. It reminded him much of his own birthdays when he was a child and how he got whatever he wanted too.

Lily was not happy. She felt that it was a waste of money to get Prue multiples of the same broom. James reasoned it was in case something happened to the first, and then maybe something might happen to the second. You could never have too many racing brooms in his opinion, not that Lily understood the fixation with Quidditch. But his daughter needed to practice for when she finally joined the big leagues!

It would look great on any resume, not that she'd need one. She was Prunella Potter, defeater of Voldemort! The Chosen One. She'd be able to get a job just by saying she wanted a job. If she even  _wanted_  a job that she wouldn't even need.

Anyway, having a contract with a professional Quidditch team would just make her even more famous. And soon she'd be able to go further than that! Like international leagues!

It was all going so well in his opinion. People adored her, save for the Dark tossers who managed to get away from Azkaban. But they'd get theirs soon enough!

Prue was his little princess and she deserved everything.

Not once, during the entire day, did any thought of his other daughter pop into his head.

* * *

Sirius stared at the letter and sighed. "So it seems I am officially Lord Black now. All I have to do is accept the ring at Gringotts and all will be taken care of. The Will is going to be read next week."

Remus patted his arm. "I know you didn't get on with them, but I understand if you're sad."

The man huffed. "Walburga cast me out, yet old Arcturus never truly disowned me despite how she raged and burned the family tapestry." He'd been shocked when he'd realised it, but had been too angry and proud to confront his grandfather over it.

Now he couldn't even do  _that_. And he could only imagine what the man's Will was going to say.

"I suppose on the plus side, I can annul Bellatrix's marriage now and keep Lucy in check! The Dark Twats are in for a surprise!"

And… Belladonna was his Heiress because there was no way any of his family's estate was going to the spoiled brat James and Lily had managed to rear. He wouldn't disown her simply because he'd promised to be there if he was needed, but he wasn't going out of his way ever for Prue, if he could help it. And he was most certainly not giving a thing of his to the Malfoy prat either. Nymphadora would get something certainly but none of the others who hadn't managed to croak yet.

Which reminded him that he needed to welcome Andromeda back into the fold.

He just hoped they'd find Bella however it happened, before her parents did. Since her parents had effectively given her away, it was safe to assume they had made Prunella the Heiress to the Potters. Especially if it was going to get them more fame or money. So with that thought in mind, making sure Bella had some money to fall back on was the best plan.

Now if only they could find her to get her up to speed on everything. But with whatever James and Lily did to Petunia's property, made it impossible to get a trace of the girl. It was looking like they'd have to wait for her to get a wand _(if she even got one)_  for them to track her with the Ministry's underage Trace. Lily being a Charms Mistress was such a pain in the arse!

* * *

Things began to pick up a bit as she went into her Third Year. She won another talent show with an even more difficult arrangement. She'd grown a bit and her key span was a little larger as a result and it took less effort to stretch for certain keys, thereby giving her more opportunities to be creative when making arrangements. And Ms. Peterson, who wasn't even her teacher anymore, was still very much invested in Bella's education on the piano. She was constantly pushing for her to take lessons that she couldn't afford, and trying to get Bella to ask Ms. Marie for all these things that she didn't quite understand nor want to bother the woman for.

In response to her ' _stunning performance_ ' as the papers called it, and the new wave of people wanting to adopt her because her name had spread around London a bit, she was asked to play the music for the play/fundraiser the school was having in hopes of attracting attention. She'd been given the sheet music and was going to get £25 out of it! Though again Ms. Peterson was at the forefront of it all and was very insistent with her requirements. She talked about theory and skill and said that Bella needed to work on them next.

And the interesting thing was, they were using her face to attract people to the play in hopes of them wanting to donate money to whatever cause the school was supporting. She had a feeling it involved the orphanage since her picture and name were being used and Ms. Marie had allowed it to happen. But Ms. Peterson was going over and above what Bella thought was necessary all for an amateur, prodigy pianist.

People wanted to come and see the genius girl perform again and were actually willing to spend money in order to do it. And Ms. Peterson capitalised on that fact a lot, Bella had noticed. The tickets to see the play hadn't been cheap. And the year before, tickets weren't even a thing.

Recently, she'd heard from Ms. Marie, about the YouTube videos about her. People posting their perspectives of her performances and them all spreading like wildfire. Things could really get around fast and she was so shocked by it.

Slowly, Bella was collecting money. So far she had saved up £125 all on her own and was planning to save more. She didn't know what it would be used on, but knew that there would come a day where she would need money and she would prefer to have it saved up as best as possible before she was caught off guard. The temptation to spend it on chocolate though, was difficult to ignore. Bella liked chocolate a lot!

Her lessons at the rink didn't slow. She still went in every other day for two hours of practice. One hour with the other children, and one hour of one on one time with Ms. Deborah, who was very fond of repetitions and compulsory figures **[1]**.

Bella had already surpassed the basics. She wouldn't be able to take any of the tests posed by the National Ice Skating Association **[2]** , but she was still building her skills. While she got the basics down finally, Ms. Deborah had wanted her to move on to other skills, and had begun to teach her more advanced figures to acclimate her to a harsher training schedule early on.

Skating was calming. The feeling of the ice beneath her feet was enough to make her relax, which was odd considering the need for tight control when on skates. She also much preferred it to the piano since it didn't feel like she was being forced. She had willingly come into this kind of training whereas Ms. Peterson wouldn't shut up about the bloody piano lessons she wanted Bella to take!

The Spirals were her favourites to be honest. Thanks to her stretching every day and forcing her body into weird positions to prepare herself, she was capable of lifting her leg into a perfect Y Spiral while holding it. Her legs were not strong enough to maintain such a position without aid though. That would come with more training that Ms. Deborah said she shouldn't try until she was a little older.

For the time being they worked on her flexibility and stamina. Ladies tended to have less stamina than the Men. In order to counteract that, she needed to work extra hard with repetitions, and a suggested running schedule every other day that she wasn't at the rink.

One day, Ms. Deborah gave her a song and told her to choreograph a jump-less routine to it. She also had to feature each Spiral she knew, plus a Camel Spin.

A basic Camel Spin, also known as a Parallel Spin, was when the body and the free leg were parallel to the floor while the standing leg remained perfectly straight. And while the free leg was extended backwards, the knee had to rise above hip level for the Spin to count for points in competition. I looked more like a  **T**  than a camel in Bella's opinion.

"You do not have the benefit of a dance class, or gymnastics training. Many figure skaters will have additional training in one or both even, in order to better themselves. Thankfully, you have some rhythm since you can play the piano beautifully. As such, you should be able to transpose the meaning from sound, to movement without too much of a hassle. Presentation **[3]**  is the most important in this challenge, so you really need to give it your all.

"Not every skater can afford a choreographer and it's better if you learn this now, just in case. If you're serious about this as a career,  _everything_  matters no matter how small it seems at first," the woman had told her frankly.

Bella had taken the words to heart and listened to the song on repeat.  **[Flight of the Bumblebee]**  was up tempo with a messy rhythm, and she could only imagine what it would be like to play it on the piano, let alone a violin where one would have to switch into pizzicato and back out without even thinking about it! Where do they put the bow when they have to pluck the strings with their fingers for those few seconds?

She also wondered at the song. There was a sense of urgency, not just from the fact that it was fast. It simply felt like worry put to music. Anxiety. Stress. Both of which she found to be utterly annoying and yet her common companions at school these days.

With the song playing on repeat in the rink, she worked on translating what she imagined to flow with the tempo without being left behind or overreaching. Her mind painted a story of a frightened child fleeing a pursuer of unknown origin. All the child knew was that it wasn't safe to get caught. Internally she had filled that space of the pursuer with the image of a deviant with questionable interests in children especially after that one report on the news about a convicted paedophile prowling the streets a few months back. Ms. Marie had called the kids together to warm them about the man and telling them to go everywhere in groups.

She then considered how she would feel if that strange man was coming after her with nefarious purposes in mind, and shivered at the thought, but knew it would work in her favour for Presentation if she was obviously unnerved the whole time.

Bella nodded to herself, and set to crafting her own mini routine just as Ms. Deborah had told her.

* * *

Deborah McKinnon hadn't always worked at the ice rink. In fact, back in her more youthful years, she had been a competitive figure skater herself, and was into synchronisation the most out of anything. And she still kept in contact with old members of the group because some friendships couldn't be ruined even by distance. Something skaters learned early on in their careers while making friends from all over the world.

And when little Belladonna Potter had stepped foot on the ice for the first time, Deborah had immediately noticed that she was different than anyone else on the ice. She simply got it, which was such a rare thing. And she got it a lot faster than other children far older than her, would ever get it.

Her very first time on skates, and she'd killed it anyway. It was so rare for it to happen that Deborah had been momentarily awestruck when she was told. But then she couldn't help herself. Because you don't just ignore talent like that. Not when it had so much potential to blossom into something magnificent and life-changing.

She offered free lessons to the girl, and they paid off. She couldn't do much yet because she had no coach and no choreographer. But she'd passed all 10 Levels already and could probably move onto the Star Bronze **[4]**  course soon. It was all a matter of being absolutely sure before doing so.

The 10 Levels being the requirements for figure skaters for NISA. All skaters had to go through them one Level at a time, demonstrating their turns, their spirals, sequences, and such. Bella could already do all the Levels, she just hadn't taken the actual exams yet. They cost money and she was waiting.

And with this in mind, Deborah did something she usually wouldn't. She schemed and called up one of her old companions, Aaliyah, who had become a coach in recent years, but who she knew currently didn't have anyone to teach. And she might have asked the woman over for dinner and to meet her at the rink so they could just go from there.

And that might have all been done with ulterior motives in order to get her to see how Bella did while she was practicing.

So when Aaliyah stepped foot in the near empty rink, Deborah greeted her with a fond smile that would never leave no matter what happened between them. "Sorry. Kid's almost done. She wanted to get in her last reps before going home."

Nothing ever escaped Aaliyah, whose dark brown eyes could practically see through walls. She turned her gaze on Deborah, and nodded slowly. "Uh-huh. Don't think I don't know what this is. Why do you want me to see her?"

Damn! Her mind was just too good at times! Deborah had always admired that about Aaliyah.

"Bella is very talented. Do you see her lines?" Deborah asked, and they both turned to watch as the child glided from one side of the rink to the other, her free leg extended forward while her other remained perfectly straight. There was no shakiness at all in her frame. Not even in her thin ankles. "She works very hard, and intends on making this her career."

Aaliyah studied much more closely than Deborah ever could. She was always the best among the group, there was no doubt about it. And she had often been the one to help the others fix their mistakes. Aaliyah was a very dedicated woman and had become almost addicted to the sport in their teens.

"How long has she been skating?"

"Thirteen months," confessed Deborah, waiting for what she knew would be a great reaction.

And she was right! Aaliyah's head snapped around too fast for her eyes to keep up with. "Are you serious? She's like after only a year in skates? No former experience? At all?"

"No. And the strange thing is, she's fallen a lot. Has hurt her hips, thighs, forearms, and even her hand once. She came in two days later as if nothing was wrong. So either she has a high pain tolerance, or her wipeouts aren't as bad as they looked. She gets the hang of things pretty quickly after a few missteps, so she isn't perfect automatically, but eventually she gets things faster than any other child I've taught the Levels to. She's ready to try Star Bronze. Could probably get Gold soon too."

There was a murmured swear from Aaliyah's direction as both turned to watch the girl again.

Bella was busy practicing her Y Spiral, which had ended up becoming her favourite somehow. Deborah didn't know why, but she had a feeling it had to do with the whole limber requirement and the fact that the girl could lift her leg all the way up. Her control was getting better and she was able to keep position for several seconds more nowadays. She'd taken the advice on stretching to heart it seemed.

A Y Spiral was free gliding across the ice, with one leg extended upward along with both arms until the body took on a  **Y**  shape. The most advanced version was the kind where the skater did not need to support their own leg with a hand, and instead had enough physical discipline to maintain the position with just the leg. Bella was working toward that, but her core and thigh muscles weren't strong enough yet. She was still incredibly young.

The sound of an alarm clock going off exploded in the rink, and Bella came to a stop, looking toward where Deborah was stood as she awaited instruction.

"Bring it in. You need to cool down!" she told the girl.

"Her parents?" Aaliyah asked after a moment.

"Orphan."

They shared a look that promised an explanation for later on.

Bella came up to the counter a few minutes later and placed her borrowed skates down for Deborah to put away. And that was another thing. She had started using the rink's newest pair of common, rental skates. Not even a proper pair yet. She could only imagine what the girl could do with a real pair. She didn't have the money yet to get real skates of her own so Deborah had set aside a new pair for her to use and exchanged the blades for a proper set so she could learn basics correctly.

"Thank you, Ms. Deborah." She was always so formal. Very much unlike other children she'd ever met.

"You did good today. This is my friend Aaliyah. She's also into skating." Turning to her friend, she asked, "What did you think?"

Aaliyah was taking in every detail of Bella that was obvious to the naked eye. "I think you're going to need a coach if you're going to get past where you are, wouldn't you agree?"

Bella nodded. "I don't know how I'll do it, but I've chosen to remain optimistic."

"Tell me, Bella, what made you decide that figure skating was your future? It isn't a common choice and most children around your age do not think about their futures so deeply. They'd prefer to be playing with their friends than training for a life-changing sport."

The child hummed for a second. "I'm a prodigy at the piano," she admitted without hesitancy. "When the news got out, videos of it were all over the place and people kept coming to the orphanage in hopes of adopting me but were turned away. Ms. Marie said something about ' _exploitation_ ' and I got the gist of it. People want to turn my simple talent into a quick way to make money. They don't want me for me. They just see money bags. I've been bothered a lot over it recently.

"But with skating, no one but Ms. Deborah seemed to care that I was really good at it. Skating seems more like a challenge to get people to like you, rather than them hounding you day and night to do this and that. When my therapist showed me what figure skating was, I decided that I wanted do it too. It was fun, it took more work than the piano did, and people weren't bothering me over it all the time."

A seven year old being so… rational was strange. Particularly in this case.

"At least you're honest about it, and you actually seem to try your hardest," Aaliyah said, more to herself than Bella.

Deborah grinned, knowing what the look on her friend's face meant. Turning to Bella, she said, "How about we stop by McDonald's before you go back to the orphanage?"

"I thought it's too unhealthy."

Poor kid. "The food isn't something you should eat  _every_  single day of your life, but once in a while as a treat is good. You've been working extra hard lately, so you deserve something special especially after that Y Spiral of yours! That was impressive. And McDonald's has great vanilla ice cream."

Aaliyah snorted. "Yeah. When the machine works."

True.

Bella beamed then, resembling a child more than she ever had before. "Okay!" Her excitement was palpable.

* * *

"I don't wanna do piano anymore."

Anne blinked in shock as she tried to think of what could possibly put a child off to something she liked doing. "What happened, Bella?"

The girl sighed and shifted in her seat. It was still the same chair as always, but she wasn't ramrod upright the whole time and she tended to kick her legs after a few minutes. This time, she'd removed her shoes in order to sit on her legs without scuffing the leather.

"I'm not trying to be greedy or ungrateful," the child began earnestly, eyes wide and pleading for Anne to understand her. She'd been told by her relatives that she was ungrateful, and was very worried about coming across as such. "I like playing the piano but it isn't fun anymore. Certain people keep bothering me to get real lessons and keep shoving more books at me on it. And they want me to do Theory and other stuff. And they don't stop talking about it!"

Bella's frustration had seeped into her tone and her gaze kept shifting from the ceiling to the floor as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I can play the piano fine enough. I don't care about Theory and proper fingering and all this other stuff. It wasn't meant to be a career or anything and being bothered over it constantly makes me not want to play anymore. If I can read sheet music and play what I see, that should be good enough but  _noooooo_."

Anne waited a few seconds for the girl to calm herself through the breathing exercises they'd worked on months back when it became apparent that she was quick to anger and lose control of her temper. "Do you truly not wish to play any longer, or is this perhaps an act of spite against the person bothering you?"

She sagged in her chair. "Spite," the girl grumbled. "Though it really isn't as fun as it used to be. They want me to do more and be more but the other kids don't like it, and no one wants me to enter talents shows anymore. And they all complain about me getting ' _special treatment_ ' when I didn't ask for any of it though so why am I being blamed?"

Ah! So it was Imelda Peterson. Bella had mentioned her in passing a few times. A ridiculous amount of attention was being paid to Bella's little talent and the woman was taking it too far now. She'd have to have a talk with Marie over what to do about it. It was effectively sabotaging Bella's fragile relationship with her peers and putting them off to each other. She didn't understand fully why the woman cared so much either, and that would need looking into.

"Have you told Ms. Marie yet?"

"I didn't want to bother her over something stupid," was the girl's only answer. "I can handle my own problems. I'm not weak."

Evidently not if it was festering this much inside her.

"Bella, there is nothing stupid in being stressed and hurt. And there is no weakness in asking for help when you need it. It takes great fortitude to admit such things to others. We'll walk through this carefully and see what we can do, alright?"

The child gave a slow nod and reached for her first biscuit, signifying that she was feeling a little better.

Anne decided to slide into another line of discussion once the worst seemed to be over for the time being. "Have you made any strides in befriending your rinkmates?"

Instantly, Bella's demeanour changed. She looked more bashful than ever before. "I  _started_  to..." the girl insisted, "but they're kind of boring so I lost interest."

That was a problem. Bella was developing a habit of leaving things unfinished because of lack of interest, which was concerning.

* * *

Ms. Aaliyah ended up coming by a lot in the following months, and she always had some advice for Bella to improve her work on. Both she and Ms. Deborah knew a lot about figure skating, and Bella had a feeling that both weren't just common skating fans who could do passable work on the ice. It just wasn't possible to know all this stuff and not be skilled at it.

But she wasn't going to pry.

She remembered when she first told Ms. Anne about her newest acquaintance.

"Ms. Deborah's friend Aaliyah has been helping me out a lot too. She's really smart and is really good at figure skating too. Sometimes they get me McDonald's when I do a good job. They have great ice cream."

Ms. Anne had been all smiles, asking question after question about how she felt, what she was thinking at the time, and how she was handling everything. And the woman was genuinely interested and wasn't just pretending like a lot of people tended to, Bella had come to understand. It was what separated her from others.

She had even spoken to Ms. Marie and they'd somehow gotten Ms. Peterson to leave her alone! It made everything so much better, even if the kids weren't really nice.

Everything outside school was much more fine since Ms. Marie had been told about the extra helper during Bella's lessons.

Life was going good when Bella was not at school.

Deciding that she was still a lover of piano, Bella entered into a city-wide talent show some time in April, and once again played the piano for everyone. She did not win this time, since she was up against people of all ages and occupations, but she did come in third, and still won a prize of £50. Since it was a city-run talent show, they could afford to give away more money. First place got four times that amount. Still, she was just glad to get money at all, and put it away with the rest of her savings.

In the grand scheme of things, what little she had wouldn't really help at all now, but she was choosing to remain optimistic about the entire ordeal.

Also, as a result of her making it in the paper again, people were once again drawn to her name and she went through what felt like the millionth trial of would-be adopters. And this time, the videos were even clearer and the footage was whole thanks to technology soundly advancing by the year.

Her growing reputation affected her time at school unfortunately. Some students didn't like that she was gaining so much attention. They didn't want her entering any more school talent shows. They didn't want her playing the music for the school plays. And they didn't want to hear about what a good student she was.

To an extent she understood their jealousy, but to another she really had to wonder if their egos were so fragile that one person getting a bit more attention for their hard work, truly made them feel so terrible. And she also wondered if they were ready to face the real world yet with those kinds of attitudes.

Effectively, the only students to hold a conversation with her still were Amara and Brielle, but only because they'd shared seating for so long that they knew her temperament better than any of the other children. And maybe on the side, she had started to like Amara and Brielle a little bit as they got older and less annoying.

And things weren't any better at the orphanage unfortunately. The hype over Bella of all people, wasn't appreciated. On the surface she wasn't interesting after all. The children there wanted to leave. Some foolishly believed their parents were coming back for them. Some did everything they could to get adopted. Some even sabotaged others just so they  _couldn't_  get adopted. So to have one kid constantly get chances to be adopted, and then those chances get turned away, offended many of them.

Apparently her prospective adoptive guardians deciding they didn't want a child unless it was her, was enough to make some other children violent. As in physically violent. As in liking to take their anger out physically on Bella and trying to corner her in order to do it.

She'd been confronted by many groups, all of whom didn't get away without a beating. And the thing was, she was often hurt as well. One time, her hand was crushed under a boy's heel before she'd managed to get up and fight back. Her hand had been terribly bruised and she couldn't move it for a while. And when she awoke from an impromptu nap, her hand was perfectly healed.

Which was good because it worked in her favour. But it was really strange that things like that happened to Bella only. She had watched other kids just to be sure and yes, it was only Bella.

The group of boys that had cornered her, were all bruised and bloody, and had narked to one of the workers, who then got Ms. Marie. When Bella appeared as she'd been called, perfectly clean and not a single injury, it just implicated the boys even further. In their haste to get her in trouble, they'd admitted to fighting, which was against the rules. And they were all roughed up to prove their rule breaking.

So no, life was not getting any better at school or at the orphanage, but it surely got better at the rink.

And one day it actually got better on the other sides too. She was called into Ms. Marie's office and she found Ms. Aaliyah standing there with a calm smile on her face, and the words, "Would you like it if I adopted you?" coming out of her mouth.

As in, she wanted to bring Bella home, and… raise her. And do all those things her relatives should have done but didn't because they didn't like her. Meaning Bella would have the normal childhood she'd wanted since she was old enough to understand what being normal was and what ' _fairness_ ' was.

But why? That was all she could wonder.

* * *

Prue groaned in her seat as her mum dragged on and on about magical history that wasn't important because it happened so long ago and they weren't the same barbarians from back then! But for some reason people kept bringing it up!

' _Hogwarts doesn't have a good History of Magic class,_ ' or so her mother had said.

It wasn't Prue's fault that the teacher was bad at his job. And it wasn't the students' job to teach themselves the stuff in their books. Their books which were boring and Prue could never get through because who cared?

Not even Mrs. Weasley made Ron and Ginny learn about history! Ron had done nothing but brag about it lately like the prat that he was. It wasn't fair!

"Prue, I need you to pay attention. I want you to tell me in your own words, about the topic of study today."

The girl blinked twice and sent her mother a blank look. "I wasn't listening because it's boring."

"You- You retained  _nothing_  from what I was saying?" he mother asked in disbelief, green eyes wide with shock.

Prue shrugged. "Can't concentrate if it's boring. Can I go play now?"

When her mother did nothing but stare, Prue took that as permission, and slipped away from her daily lessons. The woman was so distracted by whatever she was thinking about that she didn't even do the usual ' ** _may_  ** _I go play now_ ' thing. Which was perfectly fine in Prue's opinion.

Maybe if she was lucky, she'd get her father to play football so mum couldn't drag her back to her lessons. He would take her side in anything.

* * *

Over the fast several months, Aaliyah Michaels had been patiently going through the process of getting the okay to either adopt or foster a child in the UK. And the entire process of just getting the green light had taken around six months because the assessment was a thorough procedure and they didn't want to miss anything.

The adoption process wasn't exactly the same every time. Especially as society as a whole advanced.

So in Aaliyah's situation, she wasn't some random stranger coming to try and take the kid away. She had known the girl for about eight months and had seen her every other day during that time. They weren't strangers to each other, and they'd been exposed to one another long enough to build a sort of rapport.

Marie, the matron of the orphanage, as well as the child's psychiatrist, Anne, were fully away of the details regarding their friendly relationship. So instead of having to do those annoying meet and greets to determine if both parties are comfortable with each other, or to determine if the child was willing to live with the person in question, they got to skip all those nitty gritty parts.

"Why would you want to adopt  _me_?" Belladonna asked as she stood in the office, looking baffled and perhaps a bit self-conscious which wasn't a usual look to be on her face.

Aaliyah smiled. "I know you've noticed my more advanced set of kills on the ice. I too was a competitive for a while, and have been a coach for the past five years. After seeing you work hard, in which I was reminded so much of myself when I was young, I decided that we could be a great team, and we can get you to where you want to go, together. I've never taught a skater with as much aptitude as you, and I don't want your efforts to go to waste."

Marie was smiling, obviously happy for the girl. "She's going to help you reach your goal!"

The next few minutes were spent getting the girl's opinion on the situation as well as explaining how the rest of the process went. How she'd have to live with Aaliyah for at least ten weeks before applying for the court order necessary to make the adoption officially legal. And how there would be routine check ups from a social worker popping in at random moments to see how things were progressing and to make suggestions if any were needed.

Bella would still remain in contact with her therapist because she was not yet released, though the woman swore it was any day now. She just wanted to see a little more expansion for the child's world before deeming her fine.

Aaliyah planned to provide that expansion.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I must insist that you begin training Prunella now. The prophecy is still active, meaning Tom is still alive somewhere, and he will be working to regain his power. Prunella is in danger."

Neither James nor Lily seemed all that worried, which was aggravating if he was honest with himself at least. He would think that they would be more concerned over the fate of their daughter. Yet the two sat in front of his desk. Looking as aloof as a person could get.

"Prue will just send him packing again, Headmaster," James boasted with a broad grin. "She'll do it as many times as she needs to."

"And Prue doesn't like training so…" Lily trailed off with a shrug. "What can you do?"

Did they truly believe that a bit of luck once, would end up working in the exact same scenario again? Prunella Potter may be the chosen one, but he couldn't understand the belief that they didn't have to train her to face the upcoming evil.

If Alastor were here, he'd be going mental with his grievances against such poor plotting.

"I really must insist that she begins to train. The public are going to want to be assured of her ability come his return." And since they'd lavished their daughter with gifts and fame, the people were going to demand to see proof of her supposed prowess sooner or later. Albus could already tell that it wasn't going to be pretty.

In the end, neither wanted to listen to him and he was left bewildered as they left the room to fetch their daughter from the Quidditch Pitch.

He didn't know where it all went so topsy turvy, but he was secretly hoping that everything went back to what it used to be before Tom had aspirations of a Dark nature. Back when everything made sense and the children he'd watched grow over the years, didn't become so… twisted morally.

A shame if he ever saw one. Charlus and Dorea would be horrified by the way their son was handling the imminent danger to the lives of his family. Albus could only hope that the two would wake up sooner rather than later. Preferably before something terrible happened to either them or their children.

Merlin! He needed a nice glass of brandy. A full glass to sooth his frustrations.

* * *

All Severus Snape wanted to do was ram his head into a wall. A very muggle thing to do. But considering the object of his attention, that wasn't surprising.

Petunia Dursley was nowhere to be found. He'd even gotten his hands on multiple phone books all across the UK, searching for 'Dursley' and there were so  _many_. It didn't seem like a common surname, but he was wrong apparently. But not one Petunia or Vernon listed.

'Evans' also showed him nothing of any sort to go on.

There were rituals that not even Black knew of. Rituals that could find people for a price. But something was required. A piece of that person mostly. Obviously they had none of that. So then there were Locators of all sorts, but all the ones they'd each attempted, were coming up hazy, meaning magic was interfering, meaning the witless wonder and his wife did something further than just abandon their child.

Petunia and Lily weren't even related so none of the blood relation spells could work. Didn't work on the child because of the Potters, and it didn't work on Petunia because Lily was adopted.

He was tempted to tell Black to bring the situation to Dumbledore's notice. Surely he would take Black's side. He always had.

Severus had even gone through the trouble of  _extracting_  some information from some individuals. No, it wasn't torture, but it wasn't legal. He knew where to go and somewhat what to do. It merely took him a long time to get everything done because muggle technology had advanced rapidly over the last decade or two and cameras were hell to avoid when they were  _everywhere_! On every bloody corner, in every bloody office.

And he thought wizards a paranoid lot.

No Bella Potter or Belladonna Potter. Information was scarce. She had attended a London school for three years and then left. No information on where she transferred to, and nothing to tell him where she was from. A lot of the information was redacted. Which meant an individual higher up, was involved, which wasn't good. Muggle governments were annoying to deal with and only a government would redact someone's information.

And now what were they to do? The girl was alive and had attended the school, but they had nothing currently to go on. Nothing but a bunch of blacked out pages.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_figures)]** Compulsory Figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating,  
>  from which the sport derives its name. Carving specific patterns or figures into  
> the ice was the original focus of the sport. The patterns of compulsory figures  
> all derive from the basic figure eight. - Wikipedia. Many often fall back on them  
> in practice because they help train Step Sequences.
> 
> **[[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ice_Skating_Association)]** National Ice Skating Association(a.k.a. NISA) is the governing body of skating  
>  in the UK. It oversees the different disciplines within ice skating which include:  
> figure skating(singles, pairs, and dance), speed skating, and synchronized skating.
> 
> **[[3](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating#Presentation_Score)]** The Judges award points on a scale from 0.25 to 10.00 with increments of .25  
>  for the Presentation Score to grade the overall presentation of the performance.  
> There are five parts to the Presentation Score: Skating Skills, Transition, Execution,  
> Choreography, and Interpretation.
> 
> **[[4](http://www.iceskating.org.uk/index.cfm/learn-to-skate/skate-star/skate-uk-star-free-skating/)]** Skate UK Star Levels: Exams of required maneuvers that the skaters must  
>  learn. Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bronze is the next Level for Bella to train in. She  
> must pass Bronze before moving onto Silver. She cannot go on to either national  
> or international competitions without passing these exams.
> 
>  

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER TOMARRY/HARRYMORT FICS! ^-^


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time skip!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This is after a time skip. A few years have passed and the twins  
> are going to get their Hogwarts letters soon! This means both of  
> them are older and have changed a bit from when you last saw  
> them. Some changes are good and some are not. Some things  
> stayed the same, which can be good or bad depending on the  
> situation.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Belladonna Pandora Potter Michaels was an energetic girl of almost eleven years. She had many talents and a lot of aptitude no matter the subject of interest. And always managed to do well even if she was new to the subject in question. Well… at least until she grew bored of it. Which was often and always ended with her having unfinished projects that would probably never be finished. And she tried to not let that happen, but she was just a kid and it was normalish for kids to not focus on one this so obsessively, right?

She was in a dance class, physically following along with the instructor's words, while mentally daydreaming of food. She'd eaten breakfast as Aaliyah, her guardian, had told her to. But dancing took a lot of work and she was hungry again as she had been in recent weeks. And she didn't even know why since she had eaten until she was full!

Every morning, Bella would have a large strawberry smoothie and two pieces of toast. The smoothie was usually placed in a cup that was as long as her own torso, so she was usually full by the time she even got to her toast. But since the summer had begun, her training had been raised a few notches in difficulty because she was going to be eleven soon and she was even closer to joining the Junior skaters. And with her having more free time now, she could focus more on bettering herself elsewhere.

Her reputation was expanding and there were many reasons for that.

There were dozens upon dozens of pages to pull up on YouTube if one bothered to search Belladonna Potter. Videos featuring her playing the piano that were uploaded by her. Videos featuring her figure skating in local competitions and winning first place in said competitions. Videos uploaded by Aaliyah of Bella's training on some days when she was doing especially well and felt like keeping people updated.

Eventually, as of her most recent victory, news outlets managed to find that the piano prodigy of the past few years, and the upcoming Novice skater, were one in the same. And that made her an even more interesting subject to write about. Enough so that there were dozens of articles about her circulating on the regular. And she'd even begun to build up a fanbase of her own. Meaning an actual group of people mostly centered in Britain currently, who followed her on YouTube and showed up at the small competitions she participated in.

It started because of the piano and morphed because of the skating when she lost interest in piano for a while there. And she was super proud to have gained such a support base. The people didn't know her, but they chose to show up at competitions, cheer her on, and wish her the best of luck on YouTube anyway. She had a decently following of about 50K subscribers, and was perfectly happy with that number. Amara thought she should have more but she was just a child currently and rarely would adults find the need to intricately follow the life of a child they don't know.

There were online forums dedicated to figure skating, and some specifically dedicated to her. She knew. She ghosted a lot of them because she was curious to see what people had observed from her performances. Most things were good, others weren't but that was fine.

Most people liked her. Some were just haters with no lives of their own. She got over it because for every bad comment, there were five good comments. That was the kind of attitude one should have at least and Aaliyah had been very careful in teaching her how to respond to negativity. Which was to be disgustingly polite in return and let the other person make their own noose.

And the best part was that her growing fanbase, so far only local in terms of Great Britain, had begun calling themselves Bellas. She didn't know why that was the chosen name, but compared to the others that had been up on the original poll, such as: Potterheads, Pandora's Boxes, and Pandas, it was certainly better in her opinion. Like they were calling themselves ' _beauties_ '. On the side, Amara was calling her a Potterhead instead, but she only did it when she wanted to annoy Bella a bit.

Bella liked the name that won with a vote five thousand. It was the least embarrassing one too.

Her stomach growled again, demanding food.

She sighed. It was an hour until lunch still.

She was suffering! She was going to wither away!

* * *

"We're working on your Doubles **[1]**  today," Aaliyah said when Bella finally stepped foot in the rink. "You've been getting much better and I would prefer that your have mastered every Double there is before trying any Triples. You're ahead of your peers in this, meaning we don't need to rush you to do more. There is nothing wrong with fine-tuning your technique while you have all this time on your hands."

Bella set her bag down on the nearest bench and pulled her skates out. "I've been a lot more hungry lately," she noted, thinking back to the apple she'd just eaten. "Got any idea why?"

"You are growing still. You're about to be eleven, which brings you even closer to your teens, where things change drastically. Add on the growing work out schedule that you'll be getting as well, and it's only going to get worse."

She wasn't looking forward to that. Growth was going to affect her skating which was a problem. A mere inch could mess his training up terrible and cause her to either under or over-rotate when jumping or doing spins **[2]**.

Once her laces were done properly, she hobbled on over to the ice, taking one guard off at a time and handing them over to her coach/guardian. In the past few years, they couldn't really fall into a habit of the mother/daughter thing. Aaliyah was more like an older sister that Bella just so happened to take the same surname of. And the woman was perfectly fine with that, so Bella calling her by name wasn't awkward between them. It felt more natural than anything else.

"Do your figures for now. I'll tell you when to begin Rep 1 **[3]**."

"Right."

She was off. Compulsory Figures were the warm ups on the ice. And the cool downs too. For her at least. She started and ended every practice with them because they were what Aaliyah went back to the most. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Aaliyah wasn't necessarily a hard arse, but she wasn't easygoing. Even when Bella seemed to pick up instruction very well and was capable of getting the hang of something not too long after being introduced to it, she didn't let up. She wanted proof that whatever it was was second nature to Bella, and would not relent until she was absolutely sure. Which was why Bella was going to demonstrate all of her Doubles today. If she managed every single one to Aaliyah's exacting standards, then they could go on to practice her Triples, starting with the Triple Toe Loop.

Toe Loops were the easiest jump in her opinion and they were a Toe Jump **[4]**. What Aaliyah didn't know, was that Bella had already begun practicing her Triple Toe Loop and could land it with a bit of an over-rotation, but not enough for a massive deduction of points. She hoped to have it mastered by the time they actually got to practicing it together, that way she could skip ahead to other Triple jumps.

The ironic thing was that she was certain that Aaliyah knew already but had decided not to say anything. She seemed to always know when Bella was going out on her own when she shouldn't. Most of the time it got her grounded to her room, but that was fine. She had books to read, and a laptop to use even if the wifi password was changed so she couldn't log onto anything important.

Bella had other interests besides skating. Like the digital piano that she'd bought for herself with the money she'd ended up saving. And it had been a worthwhile investment because the piano could calm her down as well as help her think clearly. And she was no longer bitter over how people treated her talent with the keys, meaning she could just enjoy her time and that was it. No one was up her arse about getting lessons now.

Basically, punishments weren't all that horrible, but she didn't walk away completely unaware of why she wasn't supposed to do what she did. Bella respected Aaliyah enough to stop after she was caught. She'd do it until she got caught, but only until then. She was very much aware of the fact that Aaliyah cared about her safety and didn't want her to get hurt - even if her injuries always vanished soon after receiving them - and that was why Bella didn't stress her further over the same matter twice.

"Alright!" Aaliyah called out. "We'll begin with the Toe Loop and go from there."

Toe jumps were so much easier for Bella!

* * *

"I thought you were doing a snake puzzle."

Bella's plan to plop on the sofa was halted, though since she ended up freezing mid-motion, it still happened anyway. "I mean, I  _started_  the puzzle so I think it counts."

Aaliyah snorted. "You need to get out of this habit otherwise it's going to be hell on you later."

"But got so  _booooooring_!" the pre-teen whinged dramatically, flinging her arms out. "It's got five thousand pieces, meaning it shouldn't be easy to do. But I had the frame done within minutes and was already filling it it easily. I want a challenge." She shrugged. "It's on my floor in case I want to go back and do more later on."

She probably wouldn't and they both knew it. Bella had a bit of a habit of starting things and never finishing them if they came too easy. Aaliyah had gotten her colouring by number books to pass time, but she'd get halfway through a picture and become bored quickly. Another time they tried to play a card game only for Bella to give up by the ninth game because she kept winning too quickly. Monopoly was won within half an hour, so they never played it again because it got boring.

She didn't know why she was like this, but it sucked. She had loads of unfinished books. Started them, got several chapters in within minutes because she read so fast, and quickly lost interest. She couldn't watch programmes on the telly because a few episodes in and she'd just go off to do something else.

It was a struggle to do school assignments because history was so boring! Her worst grades were in History. Passable at best and she didn't care to put in effort because how could anyone expect someone to do good at something they didn't like?

Also, getting Bella to give a bleeding damn about other languages was nigh impossible. Beyond basic phrases in a few other languages in case she was ever lost in a foreign country, Bella wasn't keen on learning more, which Aaliyah said was a problem especially for her career choice, but she'd get to that bridge when she came upon it and no sooner.

Basically, getting things done when they were something you could just get perfectly, meant Bella was bored a lot. She could be as naturally gifted in skating all she wanted but without her workout routine and her practice, she wouldn't he able to do much without the body necessary. Skating required actual work in order to be truly good. Raw talent would only go so far in a sport that required intense physical ability. If the body wasn't physically capable, then her career would go nowhere.

"Why don't you call Amara? She might have some free time to sleep over."

It took her a few seconds of mental preparation but Bella was running for the landline without hesitation. They could watch films starring Angelina Jolie and marvel over how she hadn't aged!

* * *

Aaliyah winced and rushed to get on the ice. It had happened fast. Far too fast for her liking, which made it look worse. Bella had been practicing her Speed Skating, saying she'd wanted to be faster than even Kim Yuna was. As such, she would dedicate some time in her practices to see how fast she could push herself in skates that were not specifically for Speed Skating.

That was when Aaliyah's mobile had rang, which was her fault since it was supposed to be silenced like usual. The noise had been unexpected, causing Bella to look up for a second, and that second was enough time to screw up her concentration, which ended with the girl missing the upcoming turn and slamming right into the boards at her maximum speed!

Luckily for Bella, she didn't flip over the boards this time. That was the only good thing in Aaliyah's opinion.

Bella was laying on the ice, moaning in pain as she patted down her neck and shoulders frantically. Bella was only 149 cm. and the boards reached her neck so when she connected, her head had bent forward but the rest of the body was stopped, causing her to damn near choke herself. From what the woman could see, there was a red line already forming.

"Can you breathe?" was Aaliyah's first question as she knelt down. The child nodded furiously even though she was was gasping for breath at that very second.

"Oh God!" Bella groaned. "Thank God I don't have boobs yet!"

The line across the throat was darkening already, into one of the worst bruises the girl had ever gotten. It was probably because of where the mark was located. Unlike the thigh or the hip, this was incredibly visible and other people would be able to see it. And it would probably swell and cause pain when she tried to eat anything.

Trauma to the throat wasn't unheard of in any skating division but it was still serious and something couldn't just be ignored.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"But I'll be fine sooooooon!"

"No buts! You never know what can happen because of something like this. Trauma to the throat is dangerous no matter what."

When Bella wiped out, she did it was style, Aaliyah had to admit.

* * *

Turning eleven was a big deal in Magical Britain. Every time a child turned eleven, they got an invitation to attend Britain's only magical school, Hogwarts. And today was the day that Prunella Potter turned eleven, and when she ran down to breakfast that morning, a letter addressed to her specifically from Hogwarts was clasped tightly in her fist as she waved it about madly.

She had let out the loudest scream she could manage as she dove for a knife so she could tear into the folded piece of parchment, fumbling to get it open. Her parents stood by and watched as her eyes took in the words affirming that yes, she was going to attend Hogwarts.

"Now before you send in your agreement, you need to sign these papers, Prue," her father said, capturing her attention.

The paperwork for the Chudley Cannons. If she wanted to play professionally while attending Hogwarts, she had to sign the contract before she agreed to attend Hogwarts. The school would have to work with her schedule instead of forbidding her from leaving for training or games if she was bound by a contract before she finished the registration process for school.

"Gimme!"

The papers were set in front of her and she blanked upon seeing so many big words all squished together in a large collection of black. So many pages that she did not want to read! "Um… Where do I sign?"

"I marked a red X on every line that needs your signature, Nelly," her father told her.

"James! She should learn to read contracts before signing them!" her mother protested, beginning to look cross. Like usual. This wasn't anything new between Prue's parents.

"I've already read it, so why does it matter, Lily?"

And they were about to fight again. Great. Prue tuned them out so she could find all the red marks on the pages. Eventually everything was signed and she was able to turn her attention back to the Hogwarts letter, where she signed her agreement and the main page disappeared with a  _pop_.

"We need to go shopping for my school stuff now!" she yelled in order to get her parents to stop arguing. They might think they were being quiet, but she heard every word and was already sick of it. This wasn't anything new of course, but that didn't mean she wanted to deal with it like usual. If they wanted to fight they should do it when Prue wasn't around.

James nodded. "I'll take you, Nelly. Your mum would rather stay here and brood."

Prue was decidedly uncomfortable when she saw the look of utter loathing her mother sent her father's way when his back was turned. And something inside, just a little bit, soured even further.

Why did it always come down to this between them?

* * *

Bella stared down at the letter that had just landed on the kitchen table courtesy of the owl that was using the back of a chair as a perch and was watching her closely. She'd heard of carrier pigeons before, but never carrier owls. How did it even manage to carry a letter in the first place? The letter looked bigger than the Barn Owl was, meaning it was probably very young.

The letter was addressed to her. Specifically, her bedroom. Where she slept. Someone out there, who wasn't Aaliyah, knew where she slept and she didn't like how that made her feel. Like she was being stalked. And it had her full name. Belladonna Pandora Potter Michaels was written in a fancy font with acid green ink right on the face.

Carefully, she reached for the envelope that was made of something that wasn't paper, and flipped it over to find a red wax seal. Who used wax seals anymore? Such a thing was outdated.

The seal bore an elaborate 'H' in calligraphy, along with four little symbols too small to make out the details of.

Curious despite her worries, she broke the seal and let the weird letter fall out onto the wood of the table.

**Dear Ms. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted  
at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

Her head snapped up toward the owl, who was still waiting. "Is this a bloody joke?" she demanded of the bird, only to get a low hoot and a slow blink in return.

Bella being accepted into a ' _magic_ ' school. As if magic existed.

Without her consent, her eyes were staring at her hands, remember the man times she'd gotten injured somehow. How she'd often bleed because of said injuries. And then within minutes, the injuries were gone, leaving only blood behind as proof. Or the times she'd slammed into the boards at the rink and had a large bruise across her body for a few hours, only to come in for practice two days later and it would be gone.

A magic school was offering her a place among them.

Was it even real?

She blinked and hook her head. It did not matter whatever it was! She was a figure skater and was doing online school at home. She didn't have time to attend a new school in a new environment, when she had so much work to be doing!

Whether it was real or not didn't matter in the end.

Shoving the letter back into the envelope, she went and retrieved a pencil from a drawer and scrawled a big  **'NO THANK YOU'**  on the face of the letter. Turning to the bird, she hesitantly asked, "Can you bring this back to where it came from?"

The owl hooted and bobbed it's head sharply, snatching the letter from her hands and launching itself out the window.

She watched for a few seconds, before returning to her toast and smoothie.

Aaliyah came down several minutes later, her hair pulled up in a fluffy-looking bun that always stayed in place much to Bella's annoyance. They had different hair types so Bella's was kind of flimsy and slippery, while Aaliyah's actually stayed when forced into a shape. "Already up for the day, I see. Birthday jitters?"

"Meh. I was hungry." Sure, she liked celebrating her birthday and everything, but the promise of food was what got her up for the most part. Rarely anything could beat a smoothie on a hot summer day. Especially if there were strawberries in it.

"We have a busy day today. The zoo is calling and we have to pick Amara up in half an hour!"

Yes! She couldn't wait to see the snakes! Amara was going to shite herself because she hated snakes. It was great!

* * *

§ ** _I'm sorry it's so boring in here._** §

The snake's eyes opened immediately and the body uncoiled itself in order to pay Bella more attention. The girl blinked in confusion. Amara was looking between them, eyes wide behind her enormous glasses.

§ _ **Oh my God, do you understand me?**_ §

The snake nodded! Snakes could nod! Snakes could understand English! How had the snake not been made into some kind of talent exhibit? People would love to ask a snake questions! A look at Amara's face showed confusion though.

The snake being a Cobra meant nothing in the long run. A smart animal was always a favoured pastime to humans. Well, all humans except Amara since she was nearly deathly terrified of them for some reason. Bella still couldn't get the reason out of her but Amara swore it was a legit reason.

§ _ **Do you always answer when people talk to you?**_ § asked Bella.

§ _ **No.**_ §

Bella blinked as her mind tried to put it all together. The snake was talking. Not just nodding along. The snake had actually  _answered_  her when she spoke!

Now either this was a magic snake, or she was tired again. Another look at Amara showed the same bewilderment as before.

§ _ **Am I imagining you talking?**_ § she asked.

§ ** _No. We all speak. Two-leggers simply do not understand our language like you seem to._** §

Snakes had a language. Holy shite. And... Amara couldn't understand it?

"Do realise how creepy that sounds?"

Bella and Amara whipped around, seeing Aaliyah standing right there with an odd look on her face. The woman was glancing between the girls and the cobra, her brown eyes looking a bit worried. "You know, the hissing noises you and the snake are making don't sound like normal hissing."

"No," agreed Amara. "It's kind of breathy and totally weird. You did this with the lizards too."

But they were using English...

Or not?

_'Two-leggers simply do not understand our language like you seem to.'_

Bella was speaking the snake's language, not the other way around. She was caught between wanting to ask it more questions, and not wanting to draw attention to this very weird ability that shouldn't be possible and maybe she was just imagining it. But with how Aaliyah and Amara were staring at her, that wouldn't be a good idea to explore it.

"I like snakes," was the best reply she could some up with on the spot.

Amara rolled her eyes. "Can we leave the reptiles behind, please? The monkeys are looking great!"

The birthday girl groaned. "For you  _only_  will I do this." Monkeys were so boring!

"We can go for lunch once we finish up," said Aaliyah, checking her mobile for the time. "No restrictions either for today."

Bella threw her arms up in victory. "Yes!" That meant she could eat whatever she wanted! Food would always prevail!

* * *

Minerva McGonagall had been a professor at Hogwarts for over two decades. She had seen all manner of things from her students, ranging from good to bad and anything in between. She had come to assume that she couldn't be shocked anymore especially after dealing with the Marauders for seven years in a row.

However, she was proven wrong quite thoroughly on the morning of 31 July when an owl bearing a Hogwarts letter landed in front of her plate at lunch. Rarely did people refuse the chance to attend Hogwarts, so it was enough of a shock already. But the person whose name was on it, made her choke on her pudding as it shouldn't be possible!

She swiftly took up the letter and hurried from the Great Hall without so much as a word to anyone else who was dining.

Why would Belladonna Potter refuse to come to Hogwarts? Why was the name Michaels at the end of Belladonna Potter's name? Why was Belladonna Potter's Hogwarts letter addressed to London instead of Wales, where the Potter Family actually resided? So many questions and Minerva was going to get to the bottom of all of them.

Coming to a stop in front of a door she never had to visit before, Minerva knocked thrice.

Sirius Black's voice came through. "Enter!"

Minerva was greeted to the sight of both Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in the middle of a game of wizard's chess. Both hadn't looked up when she entered, instead focused on the game that looked to be in Remus' favour for the time being and would most likely stay there.

"Can either of you gentleman tell me why Belladonna Potter is not living with her family?" the woman demanded, attempting to keep herself calm and failing spectacularly at it. She was just so annoyed and she wanted answers.

That got their attention as Sirius leapt to his feet, eyes wide. "You  _found_  her?"

Her own eyes went wide. So they didn't even know where she was.

She shoved the letter into his hands. "All of it has raised many questions and I want to know what you know before I go and clobber James and Lily right and proper."

Remus had come over and he too was looking at the letter like it held all of the answers to the universe.

"They sent her away," said Sirius in a quiet tone so much unlike him. "They sent her to Petunia. They've been paying her for years to keep Bella, and they wouldn't tell me where she was. I'm her godfather and legally her third parent, but they wouldn't tell me where they put her, so I cut ties with them because of it."

She was horrified and even more confused than before. "Why?"

Sirius scoffed. "Lily gave some half-arsed reason about Bella being jealous of Prunella having magic and they think Bella is a Squib. She made it seem like Bella was bullying her sister and that she'd become just like Petunia if she was raised with them and witnessed Prunella's fame grow over the years. So they just shoved her onto Petunia."

"The Petunia that hates magic? The Petunia that told Lily she never wanted anything to do with her and ' _her kind_ '? That Petunia?" Mineva asked, feeling light-headed and stumbling on over to a chair in order to calm herself. Two of her favourite former students had been lying to Magical Britain for years. Over something so monumentally stupid.

"I told them that Bella had magic but they didn't want to listen to me!" Sirius hissed, looking feral and very much like the Black he was. It brought back memories of the war. And none of them were good.

Remus took the letter from Sirius and smelled it. "I have her scent. Michaels was not the name of the man Petunia married though. She married Vernon Dursley, so I want to know who the Michaels family is and why Bella is with them."

Minerva would as well.

"Minnie, we can go to this place in London and convince her to come to Hogwarts. And by extension, I can finally get her to fully accept her position as Heiress to the Black Family. And then probably gain full custody from her since we now have proof of James and Lily's fuck up!"

She couldn't even bring herself to care about his use of foul language. She was just so angry and disappointed, and worried all at once!

They would need to collect all the Muggleborn pamphlets and bring them along if the child had indeed grown up away from magic and didn't even know it existed. That meant that she wouldn't know anything. And she would need to be educated as quickly as possible because certain things couldn't be ignored!

"You are her godfather. You deserve to come and see her."

With that, the woman stood and motioned for them to join her, while summoning a House Elf and telling it to inform Albus that she would be gone all afternoon.

* * *

When Bella had opened the door that afternoon, it wasn't with the expectation of seeing an old lady and two men dressed in weird clothing.

"May I help you?" She had manners she just didn't use them often.

The one man, whose dark hair was curly and eyes grey like a storm, was staring at her as if she was the light in his world. The other man, with eyes like amber and brown hair flecked with silver, appeared just as amazed by her. The woman was thankfully looking more worried than awestruck.

"Ms. Potter," the woman began, holding up the very letter she had only  _just gotten rid of that same day_ , "I am Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall of Hogwarts. I know this may come as a bit of a shock to you, but it is no prank letter. Hogwarts and magic are very much real, and there are some things you need to be made aware of, even if you decide you don't want to attend still and would prefer your magic to be sealed."

So many things in one sentence and she didn't even know where to start.

"Aaliyah, can you come here?" she called into the house, wanting her guardian to be there for this because she was feeling uncomfortable.

When the woman appeared, she quirked a dark brow and eyed the strangers with obvious distrust. "What can we do for you?"

"Are you Ms. Potter's guardian?" McGonagall asked, voice bordering on stern. She sounded like a teacher.

"Aaliyah Michaels. I adopted her four years ago. Why?"

" _Adopted_!" one of the men sputtered, looking horrified.

The other man placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Take a deep breath. We knew things were going to be stressful when we decided to come here today."

"Ms. Potter, you have been gravely wronged, but we need to exchange information in order to determine just how gravely. The man to my left is Sirius Black, your godfather. The man to my right is his husband, Remus Lupin. Might I request we come in and explain further?"

Bella's jaw had dropped the moment the word ' _godfather_ ' had been uttered.

Aaliyah ended up letting them in while she was off in her own mind, the word ' _godfather_ ' repeating over and over like a record.

She followed the group into the lounge and sat beside her guardian on the brown sofa. Their three guests took the white sofa. The Deputy Headmistress withdrew a stick from her long sleeve and waved it thrice. A teapot appeared with several cups, saucers, and bowls of milk and sugar.

"Tea?" she asked, making wide gestures with the stick. The tea began to pour itself into the cups.

Bella fixed her attention on Sirius Black. "How are you my godfather?" That was the most pressing thing in her opinion. And where the hell had he been her entire life?

The man leaned forward a bit, hands clasped in a pleading motion. His eyes were watering. "Please forgive me. Your parents and I did a ritual with you when you were born, to officially make me your godfather. It also made me your third parent through blood so in essence you have two fathers and one mother. But your parents decided to give you to Petunia when you were one, and they still won't tell us where to find you and nothing we did would tell us where you were. They cast magic on you to make it impossible to track you through magic and the muggle trail ended like four years ago at your first primary school."

So many questions immediately popped into her mind. "My parents are  _alive_?" she asked, incredulous as she remembered what her relatives had told her. They died in a car crash because they were drunks who made irresponsible choices in life.

"Unfortunately, kiddo."

Fucking wonderful.

"Who is Petunia?"

Black's face with blank. "They said they left you with Lily's sister."

Lupin held up a hand to halt what would no doubt be an epic tanty. "Can you describe the people you lived with before meeting Ms. Michaels?"

"A blonde woman with a long neck who told me to call her Aunt. A fat man with a walrus beard who told me to call him Uncle. A fat child who was an unfortunate copy of his father, who I was instructed to call Cousin."

"That's Petunia," Black nodded. "Petunia and her husband Vernon, and their spawn Dudley."

What horrid names.

"So my parents left me with them...  _why_?" She had to know why she was abandoned especially if they were alive still. She could see absolutely no sane reason to get rid of your child if you were perfectly fine.

Sirius sighed. "Not everyone with magic is good, I'm sure you'll understand. A certain man in particular was very not good and when a prophecy about a child born at the end of the seventh month being capable of destroying him was given, he targeted your family and tried to kill you and your sister Prunella."

"I have a  _sister_?!" the girl yelled in shock. All those years of pushing away the errant wish for a sibling and she actually had one?

All three people nodded gravely, and Aaliyah placed a hand on Bella's forearm in order to help her stayed centered. The woman's jaw was extra prominent, showing that her teeth were clenched tightly.

"The man's name was Voldemort," said Sirius, ignoring when both McGonagall and Lupin flinched when they heard it. "He knocked your parents out and tried to kill you and your twin. Something happened and instead of you dying, his body was destroyed. And when they came to, they decided that Prunella had destroyed him and didn't really give you a second thought, but I learned why soon after.

"You were very active magically and you liked to keep Prunella entertained. Your parents assumed she was doing all the magic and that you couldn't do any magic. And they got it in their heads that every time Prunella got hurt, you were bullying her for having magic when you didn't. So they began paying her more special attention instead of you. Lily likened you to her sister, who hates magic more than anything, and they decided that you'd be better off with Petunia. And if by some strange happenstance you ended up with magic and got an invitation to Hogwarts, they'd go and take you back and everything would be sunshine and daisies again."

The amount of stupidity in their line of thinking baffled her. How could anyone just get rid of one of their children? How could anyone think a one year old was capable of bullying other children, let alone in jealousy?

"Supposedly, they were paying Petunia £500 a month to take care of you."

"I was told my parents died in a car crash while driving drunk. And they had me cleaning their house to earn my keep."

McGonagall placed hand over her heart, head hung in sadness. "She was a wretched child and she became no better as an adult."

Bella could agree even if she didn't know the woman during her childhood. "I was abandoned at an orphanage on Christmas Day when I was five, because they up and decided they didn't want to deal me anymore. When law enforcement was called in, they couldn't get any information on them. I was never allowed outside, so I didn't know the address. I wasn't allowed to watch the telly, so I knew nothing of current events. They wouldn't let me learn the phone number. They didn't use their own names. The neighbors didn't even know I existed. I was told I would never go to school. The police were mortified over the extent they had gone to just to manipulate me.

"And they couldn't find any matching fingerprints from me, nor my blood. And now that I'm older and understand science better, I know that they would have been able to find a DNA match to my aunt if they used my blood, but for some reason they found nothing similar to me."

"Lily was adopted when Petunia was three," said McGonagall, looking contemplative. "She and Petunia were not actually related, so they wouldn't have been able to find a relation between you and Petunia to begin with. And all records on Lily were destroyed and her existence was wiped thoroughly from the minds of non-magicals who weren't related to her after she turned seventeen and chose to stay in our world.

"Lily found out about the adoption before her fifth year began and had a row with her parents over it, leaving her in a fowl mood. I made her a Prefect in hopes of giving her something else to focus on, not that she actually  _did_  her duty year. That was the same year Petunia told her stop bothering to send letters home."

Lupin nodded. "That was because Lily wasn't happy with her parents and wasn't actually making an effort when writing to them, and it hurt them. So Petunia told her not to bother if she didn't actually care."

Well wasn't that all bloody fantastic?

"So my parents and… sister are alive and well somewhere. And the reason you couldn't take me in was because you didn't know where I was. Why didn't you report them?" It seemed like the most logical method of action in her opinion.

Both Lupin and Black sighed. McGonagall said nothing, instead choosing to sip at her tea.

"People were so happy that Voldemort was gone," said Black, once again ignoring the winces of his companions, "that they immediately put your sister on a pedestal, and your parents lapped up the fame immediately. I'm only one third of your guardianship and they lied, telling the world you prefer to stay indoors and study instead of going outside. There is no evidence against them since I didn't know where you were, and even if I were to make a complaint, nothing would happen because how could the righteous and just Potters do any wrong?

"Besides, there are ways to fake a person's identity and if they still have your brush from when you were younger, all they'd need is some of that hair in a specific potion and one of them could turn into you for a few hours and no one would know."

At Bella's gaping, he nodded emphatically.

"Also, the family I'm from are not well-liked and even though I forsook them and their actions and past, people are still wary of the Black name, and it extends to my interactions with others. Most people wouldn't take me seriously and certainly no one in the Auror department where James had been working at the time."

So basically, he couldn't do anything. Magic sounded more like a hassle than something amazing like it should be.

But something was still bothering her. "How would they know if I got a letter?" she asked McGonagall. "Didn't you see it first?"

The woman shook her head. "No, they are automatically addressed through magic. There is a form inside each that a student signs with their agreement to attend that everyone is supposed to send back. You sent the entire envelope which alerted me to the strangeness of the situation. The school wouldn't have been made aware of your place of residence personally until after your first year. My guess would be they would have visited you today to see if you received a letter. And then they could relocate you with no one knowing about it since at the end of the year, your records at the Ministry would magically self-update with the place you consider home, which would be with them again, and copies would be sent to Hogwarts. The first year is like a test year and not every student will come back, you see. Also, addresses are more of a formality since our magical owls can simply find a person instead."

The entire situation required so much concentration. So many levels of shite to sift through. So much internal anger building up as the minutes passed and more secrets were revealed.

"Okay. I think we're all caught up on their end. However, they're going to find that I'm missing eventually. So what is going to happen now?"

Sirius hummed. "If you go to Hogwarts, people will find out that you did not grow up with your family or me. However, they might still be able to get you back."

"I adopted her!" Aaliyah protested, speaking for the first time. She wrapped a protective arm around Bella's shoulders. "They can't just take her. The legal channels involving this child alone, are extensive and getting rid of all evidence would be impossible. Her situation was a bit unique."

The man sent her a sad look. "I wouldn't bet on anything. Your guardianship means nothing to magicals because you are non-magical yourself and aren't related to her. Your guardianship would not stand up in a magical court. However… _I_  am legally one of her parents and can perform the ritual necessary to make you a fourth parent, which would link her blood to you, and then you would be in a magical, familial bond, giving you the same rights I have in guardianship over her in magical spaces, and two against two, is better than two against one."

Bella and Aaliyah shared a look. Aaliyah turned back to Sirius. "If I do this, and they try to take her away at some point, would you and I be able to contest such a decision?"

"Yes," was his firm answer. "We would then bring it before the Wizengamot, and then we can reveal their actions against their own daughter and the fact that they broke the law in not consulting me before abandoning her to magic-hating muggles."

"Okay, okay," Bella said, catching their attention again. "What about this school? When you came here you said my magic would be sealed if I didn't attend. Why?" If her magic had to do with how her injuries healed so quickly, and she could talk to snakes, she didn't want to lose those abilities. One gave her a natural lead over her peers in the skating realm, and the other was just awesome.

"Magical children are usually incapable of controlling their magic and it will explode out of them when they are emotional. Accidental magic is becoming more difficult to cover up because muggle technology is advancing at a rapid pace and a child who isn't trained to control their magic, will expose us. If you don't attend a magical school in general, not just Hogwarts, your magic will have to be sealed to keep our community safe," said McGonagall with minute regret in her tone.

She sighed. "I don't have time to go to a magic school. I have a career to work toward and I'm home-schooled currently because we can work the hours around to our benefit."

"A ' _career_ '?" the three magicals repeated, looking baffled. Considering her age it wasn't shocking. Maybe the magical community didn't have things like child actors or musicians.

Aaliyah nodded, a proud smile spreading across her face. "Bella is training in competitive figure skating. She's been training for five years already and in the next few years her career is going to pick up quickly and she will need all the time necessary to practice. Figure skaters are only competitive for a certain amount of time, and the Ladies skaters don't last as long as the Men's skaters because they have less stamina and the sport is physically demanding."

The girl was nodding along. "I'm not going to throw away five years of hard work and the effort it took to grow the support base I have, just for magic. But on the flip side, my body heals every injury I get within minutes or hours depending on the severity of it. That's why I'm ahead of my peers in training. A sprained ankle is well again within a minute. A bruised thigh from harsh impact on the ice, is healed in a few hours. Pain doesn't last long for me, and that, I think, is what my magic has been doing for me my whole life."

She could not lose that strange ability because she decided to not go to a different school.

"And how would the whole schooling thing work anyway? If this is a secret society, anything I learn while there won't help me here. I have been home-schooled for a long time and a lot of people in positions higher than mine, are aware. I wouldn't be able to put Hogwarts on official documents. I would have to do two sets of classes, plus the training I do normally, just to keep suspicions away. I'm getting pretty famous locally which means more people will pay more attention to me as the years go by and my public information updates."

The whole situation was most unfortunate.

"So where do we go from here?"

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

 

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_jumps#Common_jumps)]** The word Doubles refers to Double Jumps. A Double Jump is a jump that  
>  has 2 rotations whilst airborne. Triples refers to the Triple Jumps which have 3  
>  rotations, and Quads refers to Quadruple Jumps which have 4 rotations. The  
>  Axel is the only jump to require an extra half revolution though, so a Quad Axel  
>  would be 4 1/2 rotations, a Triple would be 3 1/2 rotation and so on and so forth.
> 
> **[[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_jumps#Scale_of_values)]** There is a penalty on points when you under-rotate or over-rotate on a Jump  
>  or a Spin. Your routine components are given to the judges and the announcers  
>  and you're marked based on how you perform. For Jumps, over or under-rotation  
>  can affect your GOE. Grade Of Execution. Each Jump has a Base Score. You can  
>  lose up to 3 points if you over or under-rotate bad enough. Other things can also  
>  lose you points, such as too low a height and poor transition out of your landing.
> 
> On the flip side, you have the possibility of adding up to 3 points to your GOE if  
>  the height of the jump is impressive and the transition is flawless. Each judge has  
>  their own opinion.
> 
> **[3]** Not a figure skating term, but it refers to a set training list Bella does every  
>  time she steps on the ice in order to warm up. Compulsory Figures come before  
>  the Reps.
> 
> **[[4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_jumps)]** Toe Jumps use the toe pick at the very toe of the blade. The Toe Loop, Flip, and  
>  Lutz are all Toe Jumps. An Edge Jump is a jump that takes off from the edge of the  
>  blade instead. Such as the Salchow, Loop, and Axel. The Axel is the most difficult for  
>  it is an Edge Jump that requires an extra half rotation. The Toe Loop has the lowest  
>  Base Score meaning it is technically the easiest but each skater will have their own  
>  opinion.
> 
>  

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation from the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Bella learns more about magic.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

So it turned out that Hogwarts was able to work around her needs because she was contractually obligated elsewhere. The school could not get in the way of that, so they would have to find a way to make everything work, which included allowing her to leave for competitions and training. Which meant Bella was going to have a different schedule for assignments than her fellow students.

McGonagall had explained the entirety of the school list. She explained the classes and discussed with Aaliyah on what to do to make everything work out.

Bella would have access to Sirius' Floo, because one of the methods of wizard travel was fireplaces. And that meant registering the house so that their fireplace could be a part of the Floo Network. But before that, they had to go to the wizarding bank called Gringotts, and get Aaliyah legal guardianship of her in the magical world so she couldn't be taken away by the Potters.

And through it all, she found herself despising them for so many reasons. Where she used to mourn her parents because she had thought they'd died young, and it was most unfortunate for them, they in fact were perfectly fine. Alive, wealthy according to her godfather, and living in the lap of luxury while they spoiled their youngest child without a second thought.

The only good thing in her opinion, was the fact that Sirius said he'd made her his Heiress because her parents had no doubt made her sister the Heiress to the Potter fortune despite Bella being the eldest. All she'd get from them would be a mandatory trust fund all Potter children received until they were seventeen. And they couldn't stop it because it was a tradition signed and sealed centuries ago.

So Sirius had her back not just in blood and obligation. It also meant money. She had money of her own now and could actually afford to have nice costumes when she finally made it to the Junior Division and needed costumes worthy of note. And she could get a better camera to use when recording her practices. And she wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore because Aaliyah wouldn't need to pay for anything she needed. Bella had two trust funds to do whatever she wanted with.

Even if it was Aaliyah's duty as Bella's guardian, it still made her uncomfortable when she purchased things. Bella already had a horrible habit of not finishing things and it was regrettable, and made her feel like she was wasting money. She tried not to ask for much as a result.

Sure, Bella couldn't control the fact that her attention span did not linger on certain subjects, but it still made her feel guilty.

Anyway, they were going to visit Diagon Alley, where all the school shopping would take place, and Sirius and Remus would be the ones escorting them, while Professor McGonagall went back to Hogwarts to inform the Headmaster of her special circumstances. The poor woman looked ready to murder as she went and promised that they would work everything out for her.

"You'll love magic," Sirius promised her with a sharp grin that was full of excitement. "It can do just about anything. Potions to help you sleep without dreaming, time travel, turning into an animal, spiders the size of houses, dragons of all sorts of breeds, and even living plants that can kill you if they scream. All the great stuff."

Okay, now she was intrigued. Time travel could be a very useful thing in many personal ventures.

And dragons. Bella wanted to see a bloody dragon! Were they like snakes? Meaning would she be able to talk to them too?

Maybe magic was more interesting than she originally gave it credit for.

* * *

"We need to go and check up on Belladonna, James," Lily said the moment they stepped foot in the house. It ruined his good mood instantly. "We need to make sure she doesn't have magic. If we forget and then she somehow ends up at Hogwarts, or Merlin forbid she gets in trouble for accidental magic, the Ministry will be coming down on  _our_  heads."

Prue looked between them. Her red hair was pulled into a small plait at the nape of her neck and her glasses that were so much like her father's, flashed. "What if she  _does_  have magic? What if she had it all along and you've been fighting over a stupid mistake?"

Fighting? "We don't fight!" James protested loudly.

The child snorted and sent them a deadpan look. "Yeah you do. I've been expecting you to announce a divorce since last summer. All you do is snap at each other and argue. The Weasleys don't do that and they're dirt poor with a bajillion kids and problems around every damn corner. You have no excuses but your own actions that brought this on."

Prue was completely blase as she said it, choosing instead to rummage through the ice box in order to fetch something to snack on despite them  _just_  eating lunch in Diagon Alley. And she hadn't gone light either. She'd gotten three extra servings of ice cream once she was finished. "So this whole thing was brought on years ago and has been going on for my entire life. It's only practical to think you'll split if you're so unhappy together."

Both James and Lily blinked in shock, having not expected such words from their daughter. Prue rarely ever talked about anything outside of Quidditch and Football, or the things she got up to when she visited the Weasleys. And to hear their own child talk about them leaving each other...

"And you don't care?" Lily asked, sounding a mite worried, which was how James himself felt though he'd never tell her that. It wasn't normal for a kid to just be so accepting of the idea of their parentings splitting up.

The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Whether you separate or not doesn't matter in the end. I still get what I want, which are nice things, money, and attention. And with you not around each other to fight all the time, I get more of all of it from the both of you. I benefit the most in the end so whatever happens, happens."

When had Prue become so… cynical?

Their youngest daughter sauntered from the kitchen, an apple in one hand and her new trunk full of her school supplies in the other. They listened as she stomped up the stairs, and waited until she was in her room before doing anything.

After a minutes of additional silence, Lily said, "We still have to check on Belladonna and see what Petunia has to say about her."

"Fine," he grumbled, dropping the bags he'd been carrying. He wanted to go and get back as soon as possible because there was a game later on and he was going to be taking Prue so they could reconnoiter the competition. Her joining of the Cannons was to remain a secret for the time being so no one would question her going to another team's game. "Let's get this over with."

Moments later they were stood in front of 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging. No one answered when they knocked on the pristine, white door. They knocked many times, but nothing came of it. And when he and Lily peered into the window, they saw nothing but empty rooms and bare walls.

"The Dursleys left early this morning!"

They turned, finding themselves faced with a old woman with greying hair and numerous wrinkles. "They've been moving their things all week, and finally left for good early this morning. It was still dark out."

"Do you know where they went?" Lily asked. "Petunia didn't tell us anything about moving. Especially since our daughter has been staying with her."

The woman's beady eyes lit up with greedy interest. "That so? How long?"

"About ten years. We weren't doing well financially and couldn't take care of her ourselves, so Tuney volunteered to take care of her until we were capable of it," Lily lied with ease.

"Well, dearie, I can tell you for certain that a little girl never stepped foot out of that house. None of us have ever heard of a second child living with them. I used to go over for Petunia's dinner parties and the only child around was her son Dudley. So if what you say is true, then you should alert the police."

Another neighbor, this one even more old and more wrinkled than the first, slinked on over from seemingly nowhere. "I saw a girl only once. I thought I'd imagined it, you see. Several years ago, Vernon lumbered from the house, pushing a very little girl with black hair in front of him and into the car. When he came back, she wasn't with him."

The first neighbor gaped. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"No one ever heard him mentioning a girl. How was I to know that my eyesight wasn't just failing more? I can barely see now!"

"Then dearier, I think you need to call the police and get to the bottom of this," said the first woman to Lily. "You know, I always knew there was something off about that family."

The other neighbor nodded vehemently. "Me too. Too nice. Suspicious behaviour."

Lily quickly thanked them and towed James away. The two were far too busy getting caught up in their gossip to pay them further mind.

"She's not here, Lils," said James, voice tight. "Apparently hasn't been here in years."

Belladonna was missing. They'd been sending Petunia money every month to raise a child she'd gotten rid of years ago! All that money that could have been spent on other things. And they couldn't tell the muggle law enforcement because it would require them looking into James and Lily's backgrounds which didn't exist in the muggle world.

"We've been conned by bloody Muggles," he said in wonder and slight horror.

"Forget that, how are we going to find her? She's still alive otherwise we would have gotten a notice from Gringotts about her account."

"I don't know."

The spells they'd placed had been on the property of 4 Privet Drive. They were to make it the most uninteresting place possible. They were supposed to make other magicals ignore the property itself. No magical being but them would be able to get through the wards without mass damage if they even managed to locate them to begin with.

No one would be able to even feel a magical pulse in Little Whinging thanks to the intricate charmswork Lily had put up.

But all these years, magic and money had been wasted for nothing.

* * *

"You'll need your blood since you do not have your key with you," the Goblin told her. Goblins were real and for some reason they were in charge of the international, magical bank. And they weren't the kindest lot but weren't outright rude either.

They'd gone to Gringotts first because so much had to be done with the assistance of the Goblins. Bella had been completely awestruck by everything she laid her eyes on, and felt her opinion of magic changing little by little. Even if it was all old fashioned, it held a certain air to it that was amazing.

She accepted the offered blade from the Goblin and made a small cut on the tip of her finger, that ended up healing within seconds, leaving only a drop of blood behind. She wiped the blood on the piece of parchment - magical people didn't use paper apparently, which was going to be a problem - and the blood sank into the parchment and disappeared but left no wet mark behind. This was magic.

Words in the same shade of red as her blood, started to appear as if written by an invisible pen.

> **Name:**  Belladonna Pandora Potter - Michaels
> 
> **Date of Birth:**  31 July 2000
> 
> **Father:**  Lord James Charlus Potter
> 
> **Father:**  Lord Sirius Orion Black
> 
> **Mother:**  Lily Hyacinth Potter née Evans
> 
> **Titles:**  Heiress Black
> 
> **Potter Trust:**  110,000 Galleons
> 
> **Black Trust:**  110,000 Galleons

Very straightforward information. She also had a lot of Galleons, which were the gold coins and worth the most in Muggle conversion right now. Lupin said something about a little more than four pounds to one Galleon  _this_  week. Just from her trust funds alone, she was almost a millionaire!

She could fund her career just fine now! And that meant that she didn't have to feel guilty over spending too much money on equipment. Bella was  _not_  greedy or ungrateful.

"You are who you say you are," the Goblin stated firmly. "You mentioned a magical adoption?"

Sirius nodded and gestured to Aaliyah. "Let's just say that James and Lily assumed Bella was a Squib and left her with Lily's magic-hating sister. Said sister abandoned Bella at an orphanage, and she was adopted a few years back by Aaliyah Michaels. When Bella attends Hogwarts, they're going to try and take her away, so we need to get Aaliyah on as another blood parent so that she and I can contest any decision they try to make in regards to Bella's future."

The Goblin, Rhabrak, she reminded herself, quirked a brow but said nothing on the matter. He merely began to shuffle long pieces of parchment around on his desk.

"It'll cost one hundred Galleons. You will both need to give blood to show you accept the ritual. Your blood and magic within it will guide hers when Ms. Potter drinks it."

The many thoughts on lack of sanitation had to be stifled because she knew this was for her own good and her future. So despite how gross it all seemed, it had to be done if they wanted everything to remain relatively the same. This wasn't just stopping the Potters from having full influence over her in the magical realm, it was also saving her career in the process. Who knew what they'd think if they learned the kid they'd abandoned was getting famous on her own? They apparently lapped up whatever riches came from Prunella being famous and Bella was about sharing her success with people who didn't help her reach it.

"Deal. They've both been made aware of the situation."

And that was how an hour later, Bella walked out of the bank with Aaliyah as her second mother by blood now, and a whole new view of the world. Also, she had to eat something in order to cleanse her palate. Blood infused potions tasted nasty.

Also, before she left, she took the opportunity to open up a different account and asked that all funds placed into her Potter trust fund, be transferred to the new account just in case. Since her blood relations couldn't even be trusted to keep in contact with her to see if she was healthy, she couldn't place any trust in them at all. Who knew what they'd try to do if they couldn't find her in time or if ever?

Anyway, she took out a considerable amount and had half of it converted because she was going to buy something nice for herself once she returned home. As for the school shopping, that had to be done now, while Lupin took Aaliyah to the Ministry to register their Floo to the main Network.

This would give Sirius, the Flying Instructor of Hogwarts and official teacher, the chance to show her around and get to know her a little better. And the very first stop was at an ice cream parlour that had over two hundreds flavours, and the one that seemed to stick out the most was 'Blood'. Bella was very quick to avoid that side of the menu and instead looked on the opposite side where she chose  **[Double Mint Swirl and Crunchies]**.

Sirius was rambling on about how Florean, the owner, was weak to children and tended to give kids whatever they wanted for free. Sirius recalled a summer in his youth where he went in dressed as five different people on the same day, and got free ice cream every time. He called it one of his best pranks.

Bella's godfather was a prankster apparently. And he gloated about revealing secrets about James Potter in revenge for what he'd done to Bella. "It's been one of the best hobbies I could ever have," the man confessed with a pleased grin. "He's lost so much money thanks to having to pay so many fines. And with people like James, money is very important."

Yes. Greed was a powerful master.

"You got any hobbies?" he asked as they moved on to peruse the shelves in the Apothecary for the ingredients for potions. Potions which were like the magical equivalent of Chemistry which sounded interesting to Bella. She also found herself interested in the jar full of 'Flobberworms' that wiggled against each other grossly. It was awesome though.

"Piano. Vlogging. Pretty normal stuff." Bella didn't have extreme interests other than skating, and that was way more than a simple interest.

"What's va-logging?"

She snorted at his mangling of the word. " _Vlogging_ ," she said, emphasising the word, "is like filming yourself. You know what a film is, right?"

"Yes. I dabbled in some muggle things when I was younger to make my mum go spare. It was great."

"Okay. So we have a log, which is like a written record where you repeatedly update it with new information. Then we have a blog, which is shortened from weblog, that is shared with others on the internet. The internet which is something that connects people all over the world and lets them view your blog and read your updates. A vlog, is a video log. Instead of reading, you're watching. So they're like homemade films to keep people up to date on new happenings. It's becoming a trend."

"And people are interested in that kind of thing? Even though they don't know you?" He sounded amazed.

"Well, people find someone they like and will watch their vlogs and follow that person's updates and support that person even if they've never met each other in real life. I have a growing fanbase that have been following my vlogs because it makes them feel even closer to me because I'm sharing personal experiences and information that isn't available everywhere."

"Wow!"

He genuinely sounded interested too. She wondered what his opinion of YouTube would be.

After the Apothecary, they got all the books she would need and some she didn't but was curious about, plus a pet of her own. Aaliyah had already given her the okay when it was proposed hours previous, so she got her hands on the only magical cat _(a Kneazle)_  left in the shop, and decided to name her Aoife **[1]**  because it seemed like the perfect name. It was also the first word she saw when she opened up a magical history book to a random page, but that didn't really matter.

The cat was black, with long, fluffy fur and had bright orange eyes set in a smushed face, that gave her Hallowe'en vibes. And it was bloody adorable! Too bad she couldn't get another pet though. A talking snake would be awesome. Though the school list didn't say she  _couldn't_  bring a snake.

"Why are all those kids huddled around the window showing the broomstick? Do magical people really ride brooms?" The broom in question looked more like a paint brush than a broom though. And it was very stereotypical in a sense. Did they ride brooms because non-magical people claimed they did and they decided it was a good idea? Or did they already use them, some non-magical person saw, and then spread the word? What influenced what in the magical community?

"Yes they do!" Sirius grinned. "That's the very center of our sport, Quidditch. Played about two hundred meters in the air. Two teams of seven flying at ridiculous speeds. Three kinds of balls. One Quaffle that is passed around by the three Chasers, much like the Muggle football game. Two Bludgers which attack all the players but are knocked around by the two Beaters on each team to hopefully get someone on the other side, out of the game of their clubs hit hard enough. And finally, the Golden Snitch which is very small, damn near impossible to see, and the lone Seeker on each team has to catch it in order to end the game. Some professional games have lasted weeks."

It sounded terrifying and not at all safe or something she would want to even try. That was an ironic thought since figure skating had a not so clean history involving injuries either. "Are the… Bludgers dangerous?"

"Yeah. Concussions, broken bones, and sometimes death. But death can only happen in a professional match because of how they are charmed. At Hogwarts, where they have the four House teams, the Bludgers shouldn't be capable of killing because while they can fly on their own, they only go after people when a Beater hits them, meaning they go by the Beater's strength and I highly doubt a single teenager would have that kind of physical ability."

That honestly didn't make her feel any better. She would just stick to figure skating. It sounded less terrifying in the long run. And Bella might have a not too small dislike of heights.

Finally, they made it to the place she was most interested in. The wand shop. Ollivander's, which everyone in Britain preferred to visit, according to Sirius. And he'd been around for decades!

The old man who greeted them looked… mad. His hair was pure silver and seemed no longer capable of holding shape. His blue eyes were almost milky in colour. He spoke in a sort of whispery voice and looked like Christmas had come early.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you, Belladonna Potter."

She hadn't even introduced herself! Nobody in the magical world should really know a thing about her since she'd never been around.

"Your sister was in here five hours ago purchasing her own official wand. So strange that you didn't come in together. Especially when your father said you already bought your wand elsewhere." And for a split second, his milky eyes seemed to harden a bit as they focused on Sirius for a moment. The weight of his words made a stone settle in Bella's gut. She was suddenly angry and for good reason. But then the chilly air surrounding Ollivander vanished without a trace left and Bella could breathe normally again, but she was still angry.

"Which is your dominant arm?"

"I'm ambidextrous, sir."

With a snap of his fingers, a long, yellow tape measure stretched from the tip of his wand and began measuring her all on its own. Her glabellar, her fingers, and even her right wenus.

Aoife hissed and batted at the tape measure, trying to grab it or push it away, Bella was uncertain. But it was cute and she may have done nothing to stop the interference.

Eventually, he began pulling boxes off the shelves and proceeded to hand her wand after wand. Some woods were dark and some were light. Others heavy at the tip instead of the grip.

Nothing happened, and he got more and more frustrated. By the ninth one, he was looking toward the back of the shop, a frown set heavily in his features. "I wonder," he whispered to himself, shuffling toward the back in order to get the box he had in mind.

He returned a moment later and proferred a beautifully polished wand of dark wood. "Holly and Phoenix Feather. I had thought this would fit your sister, but it made not even a peep for her. In fact, it tried escaping her grasp."

When Bella accepted it, the tip glowed gold and the wood beneath her fingers warmed instantly. She felt like her hand was being given a warm hug, and she felt soothed by it on the inside.

"Curious," the old man murmured, eying the wand with interest. "I remember every wand I have ever sold. After your sister's experience with He Who Must Not Be Named, I had assumed that the brother wand to his would choose  _her_ , but instead it chose you. It is quite curious that the prophecy child didn't get chosen by the brother wand, but you did."

Sirius drew in a breath of shock, but said nothing, leaving her to wonder why that was so important.

"I believe the world can expect great things from you, Ms. Potter. You Know Who did many terrible things, but they were all of greatness nigh unmatched."

She paid the seven Galleons and Sirius took her away from the shop immediately, muttering about 'barmy old codgers' along the way.

Meanwhile, Bella's attention was caught on the whole 'You Know Who' thing. She needed to learn more. He sounded fascinating. She was annoyed that he tried to kill her once upon a time, but for the most part, she had no issue with him since she knew nothing about him.

She was going to change that fact. Maybe she'd actually get through a book this time!

* * *

"She's alive, Moony."

The two were sat at the Hog's Head, a bottle of Firewhiskey resting between them. Sirius' glass was much larger though because despite his growing maturity, he was still quick to anger and frustration.

"We already knew she was," Remus pointed out.

"Yeah, but she's  _healthy and happy_. And she's been adopted by someone already."

It was true. Belladonna had found a family of her own and she didn't really need them now. They'd still be there for her, but neither were oblivious to the fact that she didn't need rescuing any longer. They'd been too late.

"I'm surprised you weren't clamouring to take her away from Ms. Michaels. After ten years of searching and worrying, you finally saw her face for the first time and didn't even demand she come and live with us." He'd been a bit shocked considering he'd braced himself for a possible tantrum from his lover. He adored Sirius but that didn't blind him to the man's faults.

The Black Lord sighed. "I considered it you know. But she's happy and she doesn't even know us. Old Mouldyshorts wanted to remove magical children from their muggle families and make it so they never existed to them. I'd be no better than him if I tried to do the same thing. And she'd probably resent me for it. Especially since she's been training for this sport of hers and I don't know anything about it that could help. Who am I to get in the way of her dreams?"

Remus was very taken by this obvious sign of maturity in Sirius. It was nice to know that people could change if they truly wanted to. A decade ago, Sirius would have just randomly jumped in and said to hell with the consequences. But he was using his brain and considering the feelings of others.

"Merlin, do we have so much to catch up on."

He was correct. If they wanted to be a part of Belladonna's life, they would have to make the effort to gain her trust and learn how to properly support her. Which meant getting informed on the topic of figure skating.

It was a good thing that Aaliyah Michaels was willing to help them out.

* * *

"I know things got rushed today, but I wanted to talk to you to see how you're holding up."

Bella, who was on her bed, surrounded by books about magical stuff, moved some things out of the way so Aaliyah could join her. The woman was somber now that the hustle and bustle of the day was over and done with and they'd finalised her admittance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry all so she could keep her magic that healed her whenever she got injured.

"I'm fine," was her automatic response, though the both knew it wasn't true. Bella just didn't like burdening other people with her problems. Her old therapist was one thing. It was her job to sit and listen and discuss things with her patients in order to help them get better. Aaliyah was not a psychiatrist though and Bella didn't like worrying her anymore than she was already worried naturally. Bella could handle her issues just fine on her own. But...

"I am…  _offended_  that my birth parents wouldn't even give a one year old a chance. They just made assumptions and acted on them. I'm angry that there was no logical reason for me to go through what I went through with those- those  _people_ ," she spat, thinking long and hard about the Dursley family and how she despised them now that she fully understood the situation. They were no better than the Potters.

And after everything that had happened, she wouldn't be able to report them to the police because they would want to know where she got the information on them and she couldn't bring the magical side into this. But on the flipside, Sirius promised that they were going to find the Dursley family one way or another and that they would be tried by magical law enforcement. So in a way there would still be justice and Bella was fine with that.

"And furthermore, I am full of resentment and bitterness. More than what I already had because the situation is even worse than I could have ever thought it would be. My existence is just shrouded in lies and deceit it seems."

She reached for the  **'Greatest Magicals of the 20th Century'**  tome and flipped it open to where her snake bookmark rested. "The You Know Who fellow is in here. All the way in the back. He's called Lord Voldemort and he was fighting to make Dark Magic legal again. Fighting to keep the magical world separate from the Muggle world. Fighting to bring back old traditions that were swept aside when Muggle-raised children who were staunchly Catholic, brought they views into the magical world and demanded the world change to make  _them_  more comfortable. Voldemort didn't like that, and his followers didn't like that they had to give up everything they knew to appeal to a specific group of people. Especially when 70% of that group don't stay in the magical world, and just go back to the Muggle world and used their magic to benefit them there."

It had been a lot of intense reading, re-reading, and cross-referencing just to make sure she got her information correct. His plans were fine for the most part if one chose to overlook the pure hatred for non-magical people. Though considering their negative influence on the magical community, she could at least understand  _why_  there was prejudice to begin with. His methods to achieve goals were not fine though and some of his beliefs were questionable at best.

"He was willing to murder anyone if they got in the way of his plans. And my parents, instead of fleeing to avoid possible danger, they stayed in Britain, knowing full well they had children on the way. Stayed even when those children were born. In fact, they didn't go into hiding until the prophecy was given. Before then, they were still participating in attacks on Voldemort's forces and interrupting the raids he went on. Get a sitter for their newborn children and then go off to fight the bad guys was what they did. They didn't care about their family's safety. According to Sirius, they used a spell to hide their location, but the person entrusted with the secret was never their friend and he gave the location away willingly. They didn't even have a back up plan should that one somehow fail."

Bella was unfortunately the child of such selfish, greedy people. She could only imagine what she would have been like if she grew up with them. Everything she found on her sister, hadn't been good in her eyes, even if objectively she understood that Prunella's parents were the ones to make her the way she was.

Prunella Alula Potter was a redhead like Lily Potter. Her eyes were the same shade of green too. Bella had taken note of the fact that her own eyes were several shades lighter than her twins'. And unlike Prunella, Bella's hair was black as pitch. Both were fair-skinned. Save for their hair, and eyes, they could be identical twins.

However, her sister got to grow up with magic and was pampered every day. She was all over the place, in every book about 'great wizards and witches' and listed as one of the most powerful people to exist! And she was just an eleven year old who apparently only played Quidditch in her spare time. No one actually saw her ever do magic of any kind of work before, so they were just basing their opinions on what James and Lily Potter had told them!

Basically, nothing she read was good. But she would be decent enough to give the girl a chance. If she was as horrible as she sounded, than Bella would ignore her very existence.

She didn't have time for spoiled brats and temper tantrums.

"Basically, I'm just a mixed bag of emotions right now. And I cannot go back to therapy because this is something I cannot tell anyone else. And magical people don't know a thing of mental health it seems." Or so the book on Medi-Wizardry had proven when she decided to look things up. St. Mungo's, their hospital, had a ward for 'disturbed' people but didn't really do much to try and help them it seemed.

"We'll get through this, kiddo. Don't worry."

She sighed, feeling like an entire lifetime of information had been dumped on her shoulders.

She had so little time to learn everything too. She didn't want to go to the magic school and be the only kid with no idea what's going on. Bella didn't want to be made fun of, especially since the last time she'd attended a school in person, she'd been one of the best in her classes and it ended up with kids not liking her at all and targeting her out of jealousy. But she would rather they do that for that reason, than them thinking she was an idiot. Contempt from jealousy was preferable.

"Think I can start my normal course work early?" she asked after a moment of consideration.

"If you want to, but it won't be fun and you'll actually have to  _read_  the books all the way through if you want to understand everything you'll encounter."

How unappealing. She'd already begun to skip sections that held no interest currently. But... "I think I want to take my Maths, English, and Science GCSEs next year. I think I could could be ready in time for those."

"If you want to. Maths is your best subject so that one is in the bag. English will require more reading you realise? Even if it takes multiple re-reads of the same material for your mind to finally catch up with your eyes. I know why reading gets boring for you, but you have to push past that if you want to excel."

"Yeah," she sighed in annoyance. "But if it'll get me more free time in the long run, then it's a form of suffering I am willing to go through so long as you help me." Aaliyah was great at making study sheets after all. Bella sucked at that for it was difficult to keep her attention on the task.

Aaliyah sat up. "So how are you feeling about your godfather and his husband? I know that this kind of situation isn't a common thing to be dropped on someone's shoulders."

She shrugged. "It's nice to know they cared and actually tried to look for me. The Potters had cast magic that made it difficult to find me and of course my information isn't super easy to trace when they don't know how to use our technology. A fault of the wizarding populace. Not knowing a bloody thing about electronics."

"That I  _was_  concerned over, sure, but I meant more along the lines of them being married men."

Bella snorted. "The magical side seems more accepting of that stuff, which is probably their best point in my eyes right now. I mean, you and Deborah wouldn't be able to get married yet even if you  _were_  dating but over there it would be possible."

That immediately had the woman sputtering. "H-how did you know?"

"My vision may be worsening little by little because of the ice **[2]** , but not so quickly that I can't see the tension between you both."

A few moments of silence passed between them before Aaliyah said, "We actually dated a long time ago, back on the team. But I was overzealous in regards to skating and Deborah wasn't given as much attention as we both knew she deserved. Things seemed to work better while we were friends because I didn't have to feel bad putting my all into my career even when she left. I blew her off even when I had free time and it eventually became too much strain on us both."

Bella considered her words. "That was back when you were still competing though."

"Yeah."

"You aren't competing anymore. So you have more time to dedicate to  _other_  things. Like a relationship you want but have been too stubborn to hope for."

And with those words, she watched as Aaliyah finally got it.

"You're too smart for my own good, kiddo."

* * *

"This is Aoife," Bella said to the camera that had been recording her for a while. "I got her recently and she's been super great."

The cat, as if understanding her compliment, puffed up importantly, looking like she knew she was the best feline in the world. She ended up pulling a giggle from Bella, who usually tried to keep such noises inside because they were embarrassing.

Aoife then jumped down in order to situation herself on Bella's bed, allowing the girl to focus more on the vlog she was doing.

"We're about to go to the rink for some more practice. I've started my Triples training and I'm excited to try the Axel. It's my main goal for today. I wasn't allowed to try yesterday but today I will make the attempt! Probably won't get it but that's fine. Aaliyah will record it so you can see how I do."

She shut the camera down and and got off the bed. It was time to advance her jumps, as well as give her subscribers little snippets here and there of her progress and efforts.

"You ready?" Aaliyah asked once she made it downstairs, camera shoved into her bag along with all of her other equipment.

"Yep."

* * *

Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat in order to gain the full attention of the room. As usual, the staff of Hogwarts would meet up a week before term began, in order to discuss lesson plans, and any possible important information. This year, they had some  _very_  important information that everyone needed to be made aware of.

"Good afternoon, everyone. As usual, the new term is upon us, and I have some announcements to make. I'd like you to welcome back Quirinus Quirrell, who will be taking over the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Meanwhile, Charity Burbage will be taking over Muggle Studies."

The rest of the staff applauded the two, though Severus offered a mere two claps of support. Still, it was better than nothing. He'd come a long way.

Albus took note of how Quirrell twitched and the malevolent aura around him darkened considerably.

"Also, this school year will see the admittance of two children that will need to be worked with, in order to help them get their schooling done even with scheduling conflicts. The first is Prunella Potter who is the newest Chaser for the Chudley Cannons. She will be out of school on the regular because of practice and games."

The professors all frowned.

"She's only eleven!" Pomona protested. "Why is she a member of a professional Quidditch team?"

"The Potter twins were Twice-Blessed like all magical twins are. One ability is Natural Aptitude, which means anything they  _want_  to do, they'll be good at it very quickly or so Lily has informed me. Prunella just so happens to love sports and outstripped James in everything he taught her, by the time she was six. Her ability is fascinating to witness I will admit."

He could understand everyone's amazement. Such an ability was unheard of before. When Lily had explained her hypothesis to him, he had been a little disbelieving, but since the recent situation with Belladonna Potter and her skills, he was more keen on believing her now.

"The other child is Belladonna Potter, who too is involved in a sport. But this one is a Muggle sport that she has been training five years for already and within the next few years, her career is going to become more demanding. The sport is called Figure Skating, and it involves people, dancing and doing tricks on thin metal blades, on solid ice. Minerva would be able to explain more since she met with Ms. Potter in person over this situation."

His Deputy stood then, mouth set in a firm line parallel to her spectacles. "Belladonna does not live with Lily and James."

As one, the entire room stirred with a mixture of reactions.

"They sent her to Lily's magic-hating sister after You Know Who's attack. Before then, they got some ludicrous idea in their minds that she was a Squib and was a bully to her sister. According to Sirius, that was not the case, but they refused to listen to him and acted without his consent on the matter, nor did they take legal measures in their actions.

"On 31 July, I received a returned Hogwarts letter from London, which is not where the Potter family lives. I brought Sirius and Remus with me and we learned that Petunia elaborately abused the child psychologically before abandoning her at an orphanage when she was five. She didn't even know their names just so the muggle law enforcement couldn't find them."

Pomona gasped in horror. Filius appeared disappointed since Lily had been his most favourite student of all those he'd ever taught. Severus didn't seem surprised. And Quirrell, his interest had been caught though the mood around him seemed to darken even further.

"She was adopted almost three years later. During that time she excelled almost perfectly in anything she put her interests in. She's a piano prodigy, and according to her Muggle guardian, a figure skating prodigy. She will begin competing internationally in a few years, and her fanbase is already considerably large and a lot of people are keeping a close watch on her for they have high hopes that she will revolutionise their sport. Apparently, the young ladies in the sport are not as advanced as the men are and her talents are considered very impressive."

The staff fixed their attention on Albus once again when Minerva sat. He sighed. "James and Lily broke many laws when they left their child with Petunia Dursley. Sirius has performed the official adoption ritual with Belladonna's new guardian to give her magical parental rights. James and Lily may try to start drama, and may even come here when they learn their eldest daughter did make it to Hogwarts. It is imperative that you do not simply allow them to do as they please. The fame Purnella has lived with, seems to have left them all addled and if they do come to any of your classes in search of Belladonna, contact Sirius first before allowing them to do anything."

The meeting progressed well into the afternoon, and all the while, Albus never stopped paying attention to the aura and emotions that seeped from Quirrell's turban.

Voldemort was going to make a move soon, he was certain. Perhaps it was time to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts.

* * *

If Severus had a Galleon for every time he'd ended up going to Black for information in the past ten years, he'd be substantially more wealthy. And he still hated every minute of it.

"You've seen your goddaughter," he stated the moment he entered the man's rooms, where surprise surprise, Lupin was already waiting. The two were lucky Hogwarts also welcomed the spouses of the professors in their private rooms.

"Of course! And I am glad to say that she is nothing like her parents," Black boasted with a wide, idiotic grin.

That left him relieved. He had a feeling the other twin was going to be hell since she was just a spoiled little brat, but he hadn't been so sure. Especially after the meeting and what was revealed.

"Any ideas on what House she'll be sorted into?"

Black and Lupin shared a look. Lupin was the one to speak however. "Ravenclaw or Slytherin. She's not got a speck of Gryffindor or Hufflepuff in her. My money would be on Slytherin though, simply because your House tends to attract children with traumatic experiences and lofty ambitions."

That was unfortunately true. More than 60% of the students in his House were from very unpleasant upbringings that affected their views of the future. It was a common occurrence that he wished wasn't true, but abused children tended to be more ambitious and cunning because they learned harsh lessons early on in life.

So the Potter children were coming to Hogwarts. One was a spoiled brat who was raised in the lap of luxury. The other was abandoned first by her parents, then by Petunia who was still just as disgusting as she was when she was a child, and who had spent the last few years working toward a career.

A child was already aware of what she wanted to do with her life by the time she was six, and had begun working toward that goal.

She was going to be a Slytherin. That kind of ambition would not get past the Sorting Hat in any way.

"Any further concerns?" Severus asked a moment later.

Black nodded. "Bella's second Twice-Blessed ability is Healing. Her injuries don't last, which is what helps her with her skating. Most people will get injured and be bedridden for weeks. She'll be healed up by the next morning so her practice doesn't get interrupted. Just so you're aware of this ability."

Natural Aptitude aimed toward a dangerous sport, and then Natural Healing which also benefited her in said sport. The child was incredibly fortunate.

"I think you'll like her," said Lupin. "She's very forthright."

Black was smiling. "She's great, and happy, which is the most important thing."

It was killing Severus to admit deep down, that Sirius Black had most certainly changed.

It was one thing for he and Lupin to apologise all those years ago, it was another to see the fruits of their efforts.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[1]**  Aoife is pronounced  _EE-fah_. It is Gaelic and means, "beauty". There is an Irish  
>  legend of a warrior princess named Aoife as well.
> 
> **[2]**  Lights will cause a glare on the ice that can over time, impair someone's vision.  
> The glare can also temporarily blind the skaters and make it difficult to see what is  
> in front of them. Speed Skaters always wear special glasses for this reason as well  
> as to shield from high winds.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Onwards to Hogwarts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -On a note for some individuals, read the whole fucking chapter before  
> you make dumbass comments about things that are explained later on  
> in the same chapter. You'd know them too if you just waited.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"We've gotten a few reports from Surrey. A few women called in and informed me that one of their former neighbors had moved the other day, and that her sister had come to visit only to find her family gone. According to the sister, she and her husband had left their daughter with the family because they were financially struggling and the family volunteered to take her in about a decade ago.

"None of the neighbors ever saw a second child in the house. There was just a boy. However, another neighbor confessed to thinking she saw the man of the house, a Mister Vernon Dursley, pushing a little girl with black hair from the house several years ago. He didn't come back with her."

Marleen had been on the phone all day and when four people from Little Whinging called with the same complaint, she knew paying attention was important.

"The family name is Dursley. The wife is named Petunia and the son is named Dudley. Vernon Dursley worked at Grunnings' Britain Branch for the longest time and he transferred to their Australian Branch on 31 July of this year. Petunia was a stay at home mother."

Marleen's superior, Markus, was staring her down hard. The flat look on his face was unnerving in the best of scenarios but now she just felt uncomfortable.

"What are their descriptions?" he eventually asked.

"Vernon is rotund, and a brunet, with a large, greying mustache like that of a walrus. Petunia is tall and thin with a long neck and blonde hair. Dudley is a miniature of his father but with Petunia's colouring. It was noted that he is incredibly obese and has been so for a long time, and his size was often a topic of discussion among the neighbors."

Markus had moved off to the side of the room and was looking through a collection of files as she talked. "Those descriptions sound familiar."

So she wasn't alone. That and the possibility of a black-haired little girl living with them but no neighbor ever seeing her before were very similar to another story of years past. One involving a black-haired little girl who was never allowed outside by her aunt and uncle and who didn't know anything about where she lived.

Though said child was told her parents were dead… which made the situation even more concerning.

"One neighbor said she'd spoken with Petunia Dursley about his sister before and the woman's name was Lily Potter, and her husband was named James. Based on Petunia's description of Lily, a redhead with long hair and bright green eyes, and James being of average height with hazel eyes and messy brown hair and glasses, they fit the description given about the two people who visited Little Whinging to retrieve their child from the Dursley family."

"A long-time mystery might finally be solved," said Markus as he finally pulled out the file he wanted. A rather large file too. "Time to review the case information."

* * *

Okay, so Remus ended up being a really patient person. Between him and Sirius, he was less brash or bombastic. He also had much more patience that Sirius did.

Her godfather(s) had visited every other day since her birthday, in order to catch her up to speed on magical knowledge. She was surprised that Remus was not also a professor at Hogwarts because he had the type of attitude that she believed a teacher should have. He was calm and inspiring and didn't make her feel pressured to get things done quickly.

Instantly, he took note of her attention issues and instead of getting angry with her, he suggested potions that could help her focus and sharpen her wit. There were also magical teas that could help as well if she didn't feel like doing the magical version of medicating.

As such, Sirius bought her a ridiculous amount of the tea and she would have some every time she would do school work in hopes of broadening her mind and giving herself patience.

Bella wasn't the biggest fan of medication. As an athlete, she had to be careful of things she ate, as well medications she took. There were substances she would not be allowed to have when she joined official ISU **[1]**  competitions. Various drug tests would be administered on the regular to be certain she was clean.

That was a minor point in her… not really a fear, but more of a  _concern_ , when it came to medication. Addiction could happen with anything really. She was always spastic over not becoming addicted to anything if she could help it because one thing could bring her down. But there were also people whose bodies adapted to the medication too quickly and the medication stopped working against the built up tolerance, so the dosage would have to be raised over and over. That could also lead to addiction.

And then there was her minute distrust of doctors. Ever since her experience with a doctor who tried to tell her she was much shorter than she actually was, she'd begun to distrust them as a whole. Just because he felt threatened that a ten year old was almost as tall as him, didn't make it okay to lie through his teeth about her health.

Anyway, she was lucky that magicals decided to use other stuff as well. And the ingredients were on the box of tea itself, and all were okay to consume! It was great! Even some potions would fit official regulations though she had a feeling luck or invigoration potions wouldn't be morally acceptable in competition.

With the tea, she managed to get through the abrupt lessons on magical society. She learned about the Potter and Black families. She learned about their cousin families such as the Longbottoms and Malfoys. She learned about how deep prejudices ran through the society.

Remus, who revealed that he was a werewolf, wasn't allowed to have a job. They acted like he asked to be turned into what he was. Some child molesting werewolf attacked him in retaliation for his father's prejudicial words, and Remus paid the price every month since his childhood. And while she might not know the man all too well, she was already on his side. It wasn't fair how his kind were treated.

There was racism on both sides of the fence. A lot of magicals thought they were better than muggles but she wondered if anyone ever bothered to show them just how similar both worlds were. Except instead of skin colour, it was blood and whether you were a creature or were human.

It was disappointing to be honest. The idea of an accepting world seemed to get further and further away.

* * *

"So I learned something interesting about myself recently," Bella began as she bounced the pink rubber ball against her purple bedroom wall.

Amara, who was laying on her floor, teasing Aoife with a piece of string, didn't even hesitate to say, "That you're a witch?"

Bella was so shocked that she missed the chance to catch the ball and got hit in the face with it. The sound it made when connecting with her face was a perfectly description of the situation. The stinging pain wasn't enough of a distraction though.

" _How_?" the younger girl demanded in confusion, turning to the other girl.

"My parents are Squibs. Dad is from India and mum is from here. They don't have magic, and I don't either, but we can still go into Diagon Alley and get magic stuff if we want. Dad thought you'd end up being magical but he didn't want to tell you in case he was wrong. Your ability to walk away from major injuries was the big clue that you weren't a normal kid. A broken arm isn't healed within a few days."

Well then.

"And… you're fine with it?"

From what Bella had learned so far, people born to magical families, who didn't have magic themselves, weren't looked favourably upon. It was another prejudice that the magical community had that wasn't based in the 'dark side' like so many wanted newcomers to believe.

Remus had been very thorough when he explained the hierarchy of Magical Britain and it was a mess! Squibs were barely a step above humanoid magical creatures. Meaning Remus, as a werewolf, was below even Amara's worth in the British Ministry's eyes.

That was something that needed to be changed. Only someone of a specific mindset could manage such a feat.

"Doing magic would be wicked, but I still get some of the stuff they get. Like sweets, books, potions, and pets. So it isn't as if I can't participate in things. I can see the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley, so muggle-repelling spells don't affect me. I've gone to Quidditch matches before and used the Floo. It's fine."

"You like Quidditch?" Bella didn't find it interesting at all.

"Professional games can get violent and it's great!" was Amara's only answer. The sadistic smile on her face was unnerving though. "It's the closest thing magicals have to video games."

Of all the possible reactions Bella had imagined when she had thought of this conversation, this didn't fall in the line of any of them. But it was okay because Amara already knew about magic and Bella wouldn't have to hide it from her!

Bella didn't care all too much about the Statute of Secrecy. Amara was her only real friend in the world. She had fellow competitors with high aspirations as well, but she didn't talk to them or invite them over or vice versa. Amara was all she had and Bella being gone for so long wouldn't go unnoticed. Especially since they wouldn't be able to have their usual sleepovers until the following summer.

She was super glad Amara understood. It was one major stressful thing off her shoulders.

* * *

Sirius had already explained how to get onto Platform 9 ¾ ages ago. What Bella found annoying though, was the fact that it was not mentioned in any of the books she had been given. None of the school books, none of the pamphlets she'd been given to introduce her to magic and the concepts therein. Nothing. She had to wonder how a non-magical family would get their kid onto the bloody train otherwise.

How was the Ministry going to expect muggle-raised children to even know what to do? How would they be able to differentiate magical people from non-magical people? They were literally all human and looked the same. How would they know who to ask once they got to the station? And there was the ever present risk of looking like a lunatic.

The oversight was annoying and spoke of an ingrained prejudice even if half of the magical population didn't hate muggles or at least claimed they didn't hate muggles. It was all in their history and the fact that is was the twenty-first century, the school had been around for an eon, and no one had yet to think of a solution for this.

Sirius had escorted them there, leading Aaliyah through because she wasn't able to get through the barrier on her own since she had no magic. Assistance from a magical person however, was enough.

Aaliyah patted her hair down and looked her over. "I know that I'll be seeing you soon because of the arrangements made for you, but I'm still going to miss you. The house'll be too quiet without you always rushing around, whinging about being bored."

"Everything will be fine," Bella promised. "I'm annoying when we practice, so that'll make up for it I'm sure."

Both of her blood parents wished her good luck as she disappeared onto the train in hopes of finding a seat near the back. The further back she was, the closer she'd be when the train came to a stop. Everyone up front would have to walk for ages, and she wasn't about doing extra work where it wasn't necessary or useful. Think smart, not hard.

The compartment at the very back was free and she slipped inside, placing her bag down on the wide seat and letting Aoife out of her cage before she lost her mind. Bella pulled out a book on Potions and sat back to read. She'd already been practicing things with Remus and was certain she'd do well in the class. It was like cooking, but dangerous. And she was really good at cooking and baking thanks to a summer where she got it in her head that she was going to also be a chef once she retired from competitive skating. She ended up deciding not to follow that plan when classes became boring, but still learned a lot in the class she'd taken for two months.

Bella had already brewed some basic potions under Remus' watchful gaze since she didn't need to cast any spells. All she had to do was wave a wand over the cauldron at the end of each brewing stage, and then bottle said potion up in the appropriate vial, and all would be fine. For the most part she did well enough and he said they would pass under the Potions professor's expectations.

"Excuse me?"

She glanced up, finding a girl with big, bushy hair standing in the doorway to the compartment. She was already garbed in the school robes and looked a little frazzled.

The girl gasped. "You're Belladonna Potter!" she said, voice full of wonder.

"Have we met?" asked Bella, not remembering the girl and not expecting anyone at Hogwarts to know who she was. And she felt bad because Aaliyah always stressed remembering names and faces. It was based in common decency after all.

"Back in 2008 I entered a talent show and played the piccolo. You played the piano brilliantly and won. And I was curious because I couldn't see your performance, so when I looked it up, I found all these other videos of you playing at talent shows or musical competitions. And your name would come up now and then on the news. And then one day I saw a video of you skating and looked you up again and you have a Wikipedia page which has a lot of information about you so I know a lot already and I can't believe I'm meeting you right now!"

Somehow the girl had said all of it in one breath, but it made sense. She was from the muggle world, so she had seen a lot of Bella's face in the last few years.

"I'm Hermione Jean Granger."

"Belladonna Pandora Potter Michaels."

"I know!" she said in a rush. "I memorised your Wikipedia page. I can't wait for you to join the Junior Division and compete in international competitions! You're most recent vlog showed you landing a Triple Loop! It's amazing considering you're only a Novice! And you're a girl and it usually takes longer for girls to manage that. It's ever so impressive!"

Yeah, Bella wouldn't be joining the Juniors for a bit, so she still had time as a Novice. She was two or three years early basically. Age limit being thirteen before July and her birthday was at the very end. A most unfortunate time to have a summer birthday.

"You are a fan of figure skating?" she asked Hermione.

The girl flushed immediately, looking like she was guilty of some crime. "Not until I saw you. You're around my age and you're just so good so I couldn't help but admire you. I can't believe you're a witch like me. Oh God," she stopped, eyes becoming even more wide, "you're a witch like me!"

A few seconds of awkward staring later, and Bella gestured to the seat in front of her. "Do you wanna sit down?"

Hermione bustled inside and plopped with absolutely no grace. Her wide-eyed gaze landed on the book that was forgotten in Bella's hands, and her mouth was running again, but about a different topic this time.

"You're studying up ahead of time too? I read all the books for our courses and then some because I was so curious about everything. I only found out about magic in July. I'm a September baby and Professor McGonagall said that they couldn't admit me to Hogwarts earlier despite it only being nineteen days into the first term."

So Hermione was almost a year older than Bella. Damn. And she managed to read all of the coursework ahead of time?! When she only learned of magic a little over a month ago?! Why couldn't Bella do that? How did she manage to stay interested in books? Did she  _not_  hear a monotone voice in her head quoting everything she read at a ridiculously slow pace? Was it only Bella? Was Bella the only person to come with a boring reading voice in her head? Was this a magical thing? Or was she imagining it?

"I found out about magic in July too," Bella revealed without hesitation. "And in the process, I learned that I have a twin and living parents who got rid of me because they thought I was a Squib." Why not start this early?

Hermione's jaw dropped and her eyes widened again. "You're Prunella Potter's twin! You're barely mentioned in any of the books and your name isn't even specified. I can't believe I never put it together!" But then her excitement died. "You mean the Potters left you in the muggle world... because they thought you have no magic?" There was a heartbroken quality to her tone.

Bella nodded. "Professor McGonagall was very unhappy because I originally declined the offer to attend the school and when she got my letter back, she was concerned over why my address was different from where the Potter family lives. And she came in person, with a godfather I didn't know I had, who was also a professor at Hogwarts, and we exchanged the information we all knew. And since the Potters didn't know that the woman they left me with, abandoned me at an orphanage, they're probably going to pull something when they find out I'm at Hogwarts, so beware of possible legal battles coming up and drama."

The bushy-haired girl pulled a book from her satchel. "All the books say they're a super nice family with great moral values. But you were adopted by Aaliyah Michaels, former gold medalist in Synchronized Skating, four years ago. And you lived in an orphanage three years prior to that. And the five years before that were unknown to you, or so your Wikipedia page says."

She looked heartbroken. "The books are wrong?"

"Hermione, history is written by the victors and they will always paint the situation in their favour. Same principle applies here. The Potters are wealthy and it's very easy to pay off someone to do what you want. Money talks and everybody walks. Not everyone is interested in facts, and the Potters have really taken to the fame of having the Defeater of Voldemort as a daughter."

Hermione was apparently one of those people who put all their faith in the written word. But that wasn't always right. It was good that she had learned this lesson now instead of later when it could bite her in the arse.

The compartment door opened before either could say anything more, revealing a blond kid with hair that looked like something from a 90s boy band with how much gel was in it. His face had a pinched look to it that she found decidedly unattractive and didn't go with his blue eyes. Behind him were two large boys that did not look eleven in the least. And they made her think that if they were in a video game, a tuba sound would play every time they moved.

That was also a very horrible thing to think and she berated herself internally over it. Aaliyah would be ashamed. That wasn't the kind of mindset she should have.

"What do you want?" Bella demanded, using the blond as an excuse to focus on other things. "Were you not taught how to knock?"

The boy's nostrils expanded as he took a deep breath that told her all about how offended he was by her words. "I was looking for Prunella Potter and neither of you are her, so you don't matter."

"Then why are you still here? Go away." Honestly, it was a very simple thing to do.

His chest puffed out, nose rising even higher. "Actually, I don't think I want to now. We can make ourselves right at home, isn't that right, lads?"

Bella withdrew her wand from the holster Sirius had bought her, in a flash. Instantly, the three boys froze, eying the weapon warily. "I am not above hexing you so you'll leave us alone." She'd been taught a few basic ones for the sake of her own protection. Ones specifically taught to young witches who were Heiresses and needed the upper hand.

More heavy breathing from the blond. "Do you know who I am?" Judging from his tone, he expected her to, meaning he was probably some hot shot's child.

"No, and I don't care."

"I'm Draco Malfoy, Heir to the Malfoy Family," the boy sneered. "It wouldn't be wise to get on my bad side, mudblood." Did he just automatically assume everyone he didn't recognise wasn't magical?

Words from Sirius rang through her head as a memory came to mind of one of his more recent visits and explanations over her duties as his Heiress. The Malfoys sometimes married Black women, and Narcissa Black married Lucius Malfoy twelve years ago. Meaning Draco Malfoy had been a possible Heir before Sirius had outright refused him.

She smirked at the boy, glad to know something he didn't. "And my godfather is the one keeping your little family together, so if you don't want your parents' marriage annulled like your precious, incarcerated aunt, you'll leave me alone. Me, the Heiress to the Black Family and your social superior." The Blacks were older and far more wealthy than the Malfoys after all.

The Malfoys came over from France a few centuries ago. The Blacks and their roots were from what was now called Great Britain. Three of the first ten vaults to ever be opened at Gringotts' Britain Branch, belonged to a Black. Their history was long and Dark. The motto was simply something to appear fancy, they did not actually hail from France.

The reason she was his social superior came from being a Potter even if she hated it. The Potters came from a Peverell, and were as old as the Blacks. Since her grandmother was a Black, her godfather blood adopted her, and her sperm donor was a Potter, she had older and more important genes than the littlest Malfoy did even if she wasn't a Pureblood.

"Now get out, blondie."

She waved her wand, using the Knockback Jinx to send Malfoy into his goons, bowling them over. She stood and slammed the door just to be safe.

"Wow," breathed Hermione. "You're amazing."

Bella flushed. "Thanks."

"I don't support violence of any sort of course but they were all bigger than us and you performed the spell non-verbally and correctly which is amazing." The awe in her voice was unlike anything Bella had ever heard before. "I've tried a few simple spells as well while visiting Diagon Alley and they worked for me as well. Magic is wonderful!"

The younger girl returned to her book that she wasn't really feeling any longer. She'd already been quizzed on its contents by Aaliyah, who had revealed a review in the back of the book. That was basically how she learned anything since the whole reading thing was taxing on her patience.

She only looked up when a elderly witch slid open the door and asked, "Anything off the trolley?"

And this was where being responsible came in. She wanted to eat sweets all the time. It was a very unfortunate weakness of hers. But she also had a sport that was her career and it required her to be as physically fit as possible because the less weight on the knees and ankles, the better off she'd be on the ice. It was better to be safe than sorry especially in the case of a figure skater. Each landing to a jump was like forcing four times the amount of weight on the knees, than you really had, which was why the less you weighed, the better off you were.

Aaliyah was trusting her to be mature about her decisions and to keep up with her eating schedule even if she wouldn't be home for the woman to monitor it herself.

With a sigh, she purchased one Chocolate Frog, one pack of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, one Liquorice Wand, and one Pepper Imp. She did not like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and she wasn't willing to buy new things with her own money if she wasn't sure she'd like them. Even if she was almost a millionaire, she couldn't risk it. She hated waste.

Hermione didn't get anything for herself, making Bella feel a bit awkward to be eating in front of her.

"My parents are dentists. They don't really approve of sweets."

"Okay, what does that have to do with  _you_?"

"They wouldn't want my teeth to rot out."

"Skele-Gro could patch up your teeth or regrow them if necessary. Some sweets here and there aren't going to kill you unless you have poor dental hygiene, which is probably impossible since your parents are dentists."

Seriously, just because they didn't like sweets, they had to forbid their daughter from ever having any? And Hermione never once rebelled? Even a little bit? Weren't children supposed to rebel when faced with unfair treatment?

She handed over the Liquorice Wand. "Try it. It's super great."

There was a moment of indecision, before Hermione accepted the gift and nibbled on the end a bit. Seconds later, she chomped down on the end, biting off a large piece.

Bella sat back with a pleased smirk.

She had a feeling that Hermione was going to be her first ever not skating related friend. Well… apart from Amara that is. Though considering how much she might know about skating, Amara might remain her only non-skating related friend.

* * *

There were no photos in the books, nor any sketches of what Hogwarts looked like. She had a feeling that it was done deliberately to give new students the full effect instantly. The castle was everything she'd expected and more. Old stone, turrets, a viaduct, and ramparts. And the building rested between two mountains and a large lake. Light from within reflected on the lake as the kids sailed across in their small boats. The moon was full and looked far larger than it should from what she knew of its distance from the Earth.

She could hear little gasps of amazement, and had to concur. Hogwarts looked bloody awesome! She could only hope that the rest of it lived up to the hype in the books. She wanted to see floating things, and ghosts, and moving staircases, and all kinds of magical stuff. Her expectations had been raised thanks to Sirius' never-ending gabbing.

The lake was vast and took time to cross. What she was most interested in though, was the supposed giant squid that lived within. Sirius swore it existed and once put him back on dry land when he'd fallen in the water during a prank. It was too dark to see anything in the water unfortunately.

The tall man, Hagrid, who had lead them up to the castle, passed the students off to Professor McGonagall who looked as stern as she recalled with her black hair pulled into a tight bun and a witch hat that matched her black and emerald green robes. Her spectacles glinted in the light of several lit torches in the Entrance Hall. She gave them a no-nonsense greeting.

"I ask that you take the next few minutes to smarten yourselves up. I will return to lead you into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your Houses. Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the hard-working, Ravenclaw for the studious, and Slytherin for the ambitious. Please remain quiet until I come to collect you."

Bella and Hermione's heads bent together as they whispered to one another over their speculation on the Sorting. Nothing about it was mentioned in the books, which she was certain was another deliberate thing. Though seeing how one boy in particular looked like he was going to faint, she didn't think the stress of it was necessary. Did people really put that much stock into where someone was sorted?

"My dad told me we have to put a hat on and it'll shout where we go," an obnoxious-sounding voice called out, gaining everyone's attention.

When Bella looked over, she found herself staring at her own twin in person for the first time in her life. She looked like Bella did, but with red hair and a more muted shade of green for her eyes. And her hair wasn't too long but was pulled back in a plait. Random pieces or varying length stuck out from every link, resembling a mess around her head. And she had big, round glasses that did not help her appearance. For someone of supposed great wealth, Bella couldn't understand why she looked like a... mess.

Bella too needed glasses. It was an unfortunate thing to happen to figure skaters. The glare on the ice tended to ruin the vision of most skaters. Bella supplemented though by wearing contact lenses because she hated her glasses even if they were cute on their own. They just felt so uncomfortable on her face and since they collected the oils from the skin so quickly, the bridge of her nose would break out with acne even when her skin care routine was flawless. Without glasses her skin remained perfect.

But back to Prunella Alula Potter. The girl seemed to collect attention easily and was boasting about all of the things James Potter had told her before she'd come to the school. Apparently the daft twit didn't want his daughter to be surprised by anything. And none of the other kids seemed put off by her attitude. Bella found herself mostly annoyed because it ruined the surprise. Was James Potter the type of individual to boast about what he knew, to others? Probably.

Hermione sidled closer to Bella and murmured, "She seems very… cocksure." Such a nice way of saying it.

Bella nodded. "She makes me think of the Malfoy boy." Though not as rude... yet. They had endless amounts of time to determine her attitude.

"Exactly!" whispered Hermione in amused agreement.

Prunella Potter was like the Light version of Draco Malfoy. She wondered if the Potters even realised that. It was strange that the Potters and Malfoys were at odds when so similar to each other. The Malfoys also had a past of getting rid of their non-magical offspring because of how 'embarrassing' they would be to the family name.

A boy screamed suddenly, making them all jump as they searched around wildly. Ghosts. She had said that she wanted to see them, so she couldn't really be angry that one had chose to fly right through her, leaving her teeth chattering as how cold it was.

"The school has chosen to keep them around because they 'add character', according to  **Hogwarts: A History** ," Hermione said. Since Bella hadn't even bothered with that book, she was grateful for the heads up. History was just so... bleh. "Also, I read that magical exorcisms are very power-consuming and there are over one hundred ghosts at Hogwarts so they wouldn't bother doing one now."

Bella whistled as she watched two ghosts argue amongst themselves over the fate of another ghost. Meanwhile, other ghosts were engaging the students in conversation. One who called himself the Friar, was telling the quaking boy that he was Hufflepuff's House Ghost and that he hoped to see him in said House soon.

Professor McGonagall stepped into the room then and all the ghosts disappeared through the walls. "Follow me in a single-file line, please?"

The students hurried after her, Prunella Potter taking point. Hermione slotted in line right in front of Bella and Bella nearly got a mouthful of her bushy, brown hair. At least she knew it was clean since it smelled nice. And it was a good thing she'd already swallowed her gum because gum and hair were not a good mixture and she didn't have olive oil on hand to fix it.

Also, she had said that she wanted to see floating things, and the first thing she noticed when she stepped foot in the Great Hall, was the arse load of floating candles that were not dripping wax on the students' heads. She didn't get very far in  **Hogwarts: A History**  herself, so she didn't know if it was mentioned.

"The ceiling is bewitched to show the sky outside at night," she heard Hermione mutter. "It can be changed though of the Headmaster so desires."

Oh yeah. She was so focused on the non-dripping candles that she didn't notice the fact that it looked like the room had no ceiling. Wicked.

The students around them all looked interested and the House Tables were almost the length of the room. Each table had a row of banners representing the House in question, hanging above them. A snake, an eagle, a lion, and a badger.

McGonagall stopped in front of an old, tattered grey hat. Potter hadn't been wrong. Bella was a bit bitter that the surprise had been ruined ahead of time. James Potter was a tosser and could go suck on a rotten egg.

With the First Years waiting, McGonagall stepped back and the brim of the hat ripped open, revealing a creepy grin that was straight out of one of those American horror films.

And then it sang.

The hat could talk. The hat could see into their minds. And the hat was going to take a look and place the students depending on what it saw.

It was like a personality test and Bella had taken all kinds of them online before. The idea of it wasn't horrible, but the fact that it could see into their minds personally, was what seemed to unnerve most of the kids. Did it have feelings? Was it a person trapped in a hat? How exactly was it made?

McGonagall held up a long scroll and began calling out names.

"Abbott, Hannah." She ended up being a Hufflepuff. The House was very explosive in welcoming her.

As the line progressed and children went up, Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw after damn near jamming the hat on her head.

Bella then finally learned the name of the shaking kid, which was Neville Longbottom. He seemed to be perpetually on the verge of a panic attack and the way his face blanched when the hat shouted, 'HUFFLEPUFF!' made her concerned. What was so wrong with Hufflepuff that he'd be scared to go there? Sirius said they were a really nice House generally speaking. Remus had nothing but good words for the Hufflepuffs. The seemed welcoming.

Eventually, Draco Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin, his smirk all wide and cocky since the hat hadn't even touched his head. She got the impression of a rooster who thought that he was going to rule the roost, which was laughable since he was eleven and wouldn't be able to rule anything. His attitude was annoying. They would never be friends, that was for certain.

She was shocked to see another pair of twins, and was even further shocked when they were sent to different Houses despite formerly clinging to one another. Padma Patil to Ravenclaw and Parvati Patil to Gryffindor. So then even twins who grew up together and liked each other weren't guaranteed to be in the same House. That made her feel loads better. She didn't want to go into Gryffindor, which she was certain was going to be the House her twin was destined for considering how she was raised. Though were courage and arrogance really one in the same?

And finally… came her name. "Potter, Belladonna."

Whispers broke out immediately. She could hear some asking if she was the Girl Who Lived's sister, while others murmured about figure skating. This was going to be a very interesting year. She could tell.

She was only minutely worried about getting lice from the hat that had touched thousands of heads, and found herself snickering when a voice in her mind protested quite loudly.  _I am enchanted! Nothing can stick to me, girl!_

And how was she going to know that if no information on the hat was printed anywhere?

_You have a point,_  the hat conceded.

_Now where to put you. You are a hard worker, but you would not be able to handle Hufflepuffs in mass quantities. Especially with how quickly your attention deviates. But that isn't **your**  fault necessarily. Forces outside your control as at hand._

_You enjoy learning new things, but don't think studying is the most important thing in life. Once again, your attention deviates too quickly and it would cause all of you strife. You have a nasty bit of interference in here._

She found that piece of information concerning but the Hat did not elaborate.

_You are also quite daring if you are willing to take such risks in your sport just to better yourself, but Gryffindors are rowdy **all**  the time and you would not get on with them in the end._

_Slytherin favours the ambitious, and deciding at age six, what career you will have and then working toward that goal is certainly ambitious. You're also very clever and cunning. They'll also be able to keep you on your toes so you don't get so bored so quickly. Though you won't be winning everyone over any time soon. Yes, you'll do well in-_

"SLYTHERIN!"

She joined the House of the Snakes quietly, ignoring how everyone had gone silent.

Unable to help herself, she sent Malfoy a smirk. As his superior, she would hold a higher position of authority than he would in their House, which she found to be hilarious. Whatever aspirations he'd had about his time in Slytherin, were no doubt thoroughly dashed.

Prunella was sorted into Gryffindor in seconds, the House exploding in cheers as they welcomed her among their lot. Bella was suddenly very glad that the hat thought putting her with the lions would be a bad idea. She wouldn't have been able to handle such noise on a constant basis.

The sorting ended with Blaise Zabini joining the Slytherin Table and Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the school, ordered the feast to begin after spouting some odd words.

"So Potter, sad that you and your dear sister were separated?" a girl named Pansy Parkinson sneered, looking darkly amused.

Bella took note of how the surrounding Slytherins were all paying very close attention, probably wondering what she'd say to defend herself.

"I don't know her," Bella admitted plainly and without a care.

"What? Are you embarrassed or something?" Parkinson continued, sneer still perfectly in place.

Bella's face was blank as she said, "No, I mean I actually don't know her. I didn't grow up with the Potters."

That got  _everyone's_  attention as Parkinson gaped like an ugly fish. It was Zabini who asked, "Why?"

"Well, according to Sirius," she began, gesturing to the Head Table, "my godfather/father/Lord or whatever, James and Lily got it in their heads that I was a Squib. Apparently they're really daft since he'd insisted I wasn't and was very magically active. They abandoned me in the muggle world to Lily's magic-hating sister, so they could focus on their precious Dark Lord Defeater."

This was her plan. To subtly ruin the Potter Family's reputation. And since the Slytherins, who were mostly Dark oriented, didn't like them to begin with, it would be easy to make them even more disgusted. And then they'd spread the word, and the few Ravenclaws who were listening in and trying to make it look like they weren't, would also spread the word. And it would just go from there. The rollercoaster had already started and was approaching its first hill.

She couldn't wait to witness the fall of the arseholes who had abandoned her. They deserved it. Not just for leaving her with such horrible people, but never checking up on her. Proving that they didn't give a damn. Shoving money Petunia Dursley's way once a month meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The surrounding students who had heard her, all looked mortified, which was good. Their prejudice, while disgusting, was working in her favour.

"They left you with  _muggles_ ," said Zabini, voice full of disgust that she had expected to hear.

"Muggles as a whole are fine. Just like magicals as a whole are fine," she insisted, stopping that prejudiced line of thinking in its place and not wanting them to think she was of the same opinion. "There are a choice few who are rather repugnant on either side though. It appears that magic seemed to have stripped Lily Potter of any common sense since she seemed to forget that her dear sister hated anything to do with the magical world, because she was jealous. She did not like me at all and abandoned me to a muggle orphanage when I was five."

The absolute horror continued to build and Bella wanted to cackle, but managed to hold it in. She couldn't wait for the Potters to drown in their own mistakes. It would be glorious!

For the rest of her meal, Bella focused on eating the delicious food that was made for the feast, and took only a small slice of treacle tart when it had appeared for dessert.

After the school sang the school song, which had no set tune and made no sense in her opinion, they were sent off to their dorms.

And that was when she saw Severus Snape for the first time officially, and wondered if the whole dark thing and bat-like presence was an aesthetic he was going for or not. Because if so, she would have applaud him for nailing it on the head. And if not, she'd still applaud him for the effect he had that caused everyone to go silent the moment he practically morphed from the shadows of the Common Room. Batman had nothing on him.

He spoke in a deep drawl and was using as many polysyllabic words as he could manage.

"Slytherin is the most unfairly-treated of the Hogwarts Houses. You are not despicable simply because the Sorting Hat placed you here. The prerequisite for Slytherin is resourcefulness and an ambitious attitude, not wickedness and degeneracy.

"When outside the Commons, groups of three or more are a requirement as a safety precaution. Personal grievances are to be handled here only. Never allow the other Houses to see even a hint of dissension or they will capitalise on such a weakness. If you plan to break rules, don't get caught."

He didn't tell them to  _not_  break any rules, he simply told them not to get caught.

The First Years were dismissed to their dorms then and Bella found herself in a room with four other girls. The few windows toward the back showed the eerie, greenish glow of the lake, where creatures could be seen swimming by, and occasionally they would tap on the glass.

Her bed was furthest away from the door, and she was sharing her space with Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, Millicent Bulstrode, and Daphne Greengrass. Greengrass seemed like the least annoying out of everyone so far but only time would tell.

Withdrawing her wand, Bella placed some protective enchantments around her things. Sirius had been the one to teach her, saying that Hogwarts was pretty lax on pranking and it was better to be safe than sorry. They weren't super difficult to do, but not something normal First Years learned already because parents tended to forget. He'd been adamant on teaching her though, and she'd learned them quick enough.

No one made an effort speak with her, which was just fine. She didn't feel like handling anyone for the rest of the night. Her tolerance for people and social interaction had reached its limit already.

In the morning, she would be focusing on her new classes while also continuing her work that Aaliyah had sent along with her.

* * *

**L &J,**

**I thought I should write to you because information travels fast in our world and**  
 **it is best that you get this information from me before another. Belladonna is at  
Hogwarts. ** **Her hair is black, her eyes are a brighter shade of green than mine. She  
is super ** **pale and thin, and doesn't wear glasses. She is also wearing clothes from  
Twilfit ** **and Tattings and looks healthy. She also hasn't made an effort to speak with**  
me.

**Also, there is a rumour going around already that you both abandoned her in the**   
**Muggle world because you thought she was a Squib and she apparently ended up**  
**in an** **orphanage, so I don't know how much damage control you'll have to do. She**  
**didn't speak to anyone but her fellow Slytherins- oh yeah, she's in Slytherin to**  
**boot- and Lee Jordan heard from some Ravenclaw who was listening in, about it,  
and he asked me about ** **it and I excused myself because I'm not sure what to say.**

**Let me be clear, if your actions all those years ago make me look bad, there are  
going ** **to be problems! You promised that everything was going to be okay and that**  
I wouldn't have to worry about anything but it seems like you failed. This isn't  
going to be good.

**Prue.**

Lily gaped in horror all the way until the very end of the letter. Their eldest had magic. She had received Hogwarts letter, meaning a teacher had to have gone to wherever she lived, in order to tell her more about magic and escort her to Diagon Alley. Meaning other people knew that she was not living with the Potters. Meaning other people knew the truth about her situation.

And she knew about their family. And instead of contacting them, she started spreading word about how she'd ended up in the Muggle world to begin with. And Hogwarts' grapevine was very fast and reached everywhere on the isle. By now, many would be mailing home about this information and it would be in the paper come morning.

"James!" she called in a panic, unable to control her building terror.

" _What_?" the man groused as he shuffled into the kitchen. He was looking bitter as usual.

Shoving the letter at him, she hissed, "Belladonna is at Hogwarts and people know we didn't raise her! She's telling everyone we abandoned her in the muggle world and that she lives in an orphanage!"

This was going to ruin everything they had worked for!

"Shite! How?" he demanded, tearing the letter from her hands in order to read it himself. "Fuck. This is bad. This just reeks of Sirius' jealousy! He got to her first and now he's causing drama. Why can't he leave us alone?!"

"What are we going to do?"

"We're still her parents and two of us against him is enough to get her back. No Muggle orphanage could keep her from us, Lils. The Wizengamot will side in our favour surely."

For some reason, she did not feel assured by his words. In fact, they made the sinking feeling in her gut worse. Abandoning a magical child to muggles was never a good thing in the eyes of the Wizengamot and if Sirius was literally using  _that_  excuse it would cause more problems.

This was not going to be as easy as James thought it was. Especially if Belladonna got a chance to explain her side of things and it ended up being bad.

* * *

Sirius was cackling. He'd just passed a pair of Prefects in the corridor on the way to his rooms and he'd heard them discussing the Potters abandoning their eldest for being a Squib. He had to give the girl credit, she moved very fast and he approved wholeheartedly. Sometimes he regretted not joining his family in Slytherin now that he had a proper appreciation for their general attitude on revenge.

James and Lily wouldn't be able to get out of this situation unscathed. And their reputations would forever suffer for it. He couldn't wait to see them in court and he knew that Aaliyah was also dying to have a go at them as well!

"Moony, I'm feeling amazing tonight!" he announced when he stepped into their rooms.

"You aren't alone."

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://www.isu.org/about-international-skating-union)]**  ISU stands for International Skating Union. It is the international governing body  
> for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating,  
> speed skating, and short track speed skating.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actions are revealed and have consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The first few days of a new schedule. The drama that shall unfold!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Bella ended up having to walk to breakfast with the girls of her dorm room. She had remained in the back of the group, taking in all the details she could commit to memory so she wouldn't have to rely on others to help her get around in the future. Despite the requirement to not go anywhere unattended, she knew she'd eventually end up alone somehow. The Slytherins weren't outcasting her, but they weren't making an effort to include her. She was just there for the time being. And that was fine.

There were platters upon platters of food all over again and she helped herself to a lovely amount of eggs and buttered rolls. The carbs were worth it because the food was divine. And she was on a set eating and workout schedule so two rolls here and there weren't going to kill her. Of course she also had to wonder exactly where all the food was coming from and who was harvesting it all? She doubted magicals were willing to get in a field and work all day. There seemed to be a general air of laziness in those endowed with magic.

Prefects walked up and down the tables, distributing class schedules, and the Prefect who handed over Bella's, Gemma Farley, told her that Professor Snape wanted to speak with her about her schedule in person, and that she would lead Bella to his office.

The office was near the Potions classroom according to Farley, and Bella made sure to memorise the way just in case.

"Enter."

Farley stood by the doorway and ushered her inside, closing the door behind her.

"Ms. Potter, the Headmaster has made the entire staff aware of your situation and your guardian has forwarded your training schedule for the next month, to us, so we may plan accordingly," Snape said before she could even sit. In his hand was a piece of paper, not parchment, actual paper. And on it was a neatly written out schedule for when she would be going back home.

So Aaliyah had rented out specific times for their to practice, an entire month in advance. Damn. At least she had money where she could do that now and not worry about it.

Snape was staring down at a piece of lined paper covered in red markings, meaning it was from Aaliyah. She loved her red pen. "Ms. Michaels and Professor Black have connected her Floo to the Floo in his office. As he is your godfather and one of your legal guardians, we all felt it best you make the commute that way. This is your schedule from Ms. Michaels," he said, holding out the piece of lined paper.

On it was the list of dates and the times she would need. It would be every other day, like usual, and it also included her work out routine on the days she didn't return to the muggle world. The days she didn't skate were the days she ran 5 kilometers. So she would still be running even at Hogwarts.

"The Quidditch Pitch is exactly 1.5 km and you will be allowed to go down on the days you are supposed to, in order to run. I will escort you to and from the Pitch as a precaution."

Wow. It probably had to do with the whole, leave no Slytherin alone, thing. Were the other Houses really that bad toward Slytherins that they feared even being alone? That wasn't a very promising thing in their favour, in Bella's opinion. An entire House of students shouldn't have to be worried over being attacked every minute of the bloody day.

"You will be given a week's worth of muggle homework to complete every Monday and will have the week to finish it and hand it in to me to send to your guardian. If you finish early, more work can be sent over and you may manage to finish that work early as well. I would advise you to take advantage of the Christmas and Easter hols where you can go home and get extra work done."

Awesome. She'd already started on her home-schooling over the summer and was about two months of work in. She would estimate being finished by Easter if she picked up the pace a little. The more free time she'd have, the better everything would be in the end.

"Finally, that paper I gave you also has a date of a competition you'll be competing in. Further schedules will also have competition days marked and what time you'll need for each. Details can be handled later."

"Thank you, sir."

It wasn't going to be easy, and would probably be a little stressful, but nothing safe was ever worth the drive **[1]**.

"I truly hope this works in your favour because a lot of work is ahead of you if you intend to stay on this path," the man said, looking genuinely interested. "There was another, easier method possible but it would involve the Ministry and would end up gaining unwanted attention. Such as the Potters. We figured this was the best choice for you specifically during  _this_  school year. Maybe next year you'd be allowed to time travel but for the time being, this method will be your go to."

She gave him a firm nod. She hadn't considered time travel as an option so she wasn't sad over not getting to do it. But the possibility of doing it within a year was awesome! "Thank you, sir. It's all worth it to me and I won't let the Potters get in the way."

She was dismissed, and Farley lead her to her first class that morning, which was Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Bella ended up seated beside Tracey Davis, who had her nose buried in a book about Transfiguration while they all waited for the teacher to show up. Meanwhile, on the teacher's desk sat a very calm feline that looked like it was waiting for something as its tail flicked back and forth lazily.

A few minutes past the hour, and Ronald Weasley and Prunella Potter rushed into the room looking as if they'd only just rolled out of bed. Their hair was a mess, their robes askew, and Weasley's face was red all the way up to the ears. "Thank Merlin!" the boy breathed, as he and Potter shared a look of relief. "We made it before McGonagall!"

"Can you imagine how Minnie would look if we were late?" Potter asked with a snicker, mortifying most of the students because who would dare to call someone like Minerva McGonagall 'Minnie'? Who would dare refer to her as something beside her proper title? She was physically imposing and looked mean!

And just then, the cat sitting on the teacher's desk, jumped and morphed into a very stern-looking woman. The very woman they had all been waiting for. Davis gasped, almost too low to hear, but her mouth was hanging and she was not alone in her surprise.

Weasley uttered a word that Bella wasn't even going to repeat mentally, before he and Prunella were told to take their seats and to not make a habit of being late to every class. They also lost five points from Gryffindor for such familiarity and disrespect to a teacher.

McGonagall's first act was to transfigure her desk into a pig, and then transfigure it back. She proceeded to explain the theory behind the very first spell they would be attempting. Bella had already read the first three chapters of the book and understood the process well enough, but something that wasn't mentioned if ever was the fact that one needed a good imagination to get anything done properly.

Sirius had been the one to explain that to her, telling her that she couldn't just want it to happen, she had to visualise it in her mind and the clearer the mental idea, the cleaner the casting would be. Apparently it was an unspoken rule that people tended to let their kids find out for themselves, but because she didn't get to grow up around magic, Sirius felt she was disadvantaged enough as it was a gave her a few tips.

So when Bella turned her needle into a matchstick, it only took one try.

"Well done, Ms. Potter," said McGonagall. "Can you change it back?"

Bella concentrated and did so and in her opinion, the matchstick looked even better than it had before. But she wouldn't say anything about it aloud for fear of being chastised. It was easy for confidence to turn into arrogance very quickly.

"Five points to Slytherin."

Tracey's mouth dropped, though Bella didn't understand why since a reward system was a common way to get students through school. And if the student did well, then a reward could act as encouragement, which some desperately needed.

She was than tasked with transfiguring multiples matchsticks at once, into needles, which ended up being a lot more difficult because it dealt with divided attention and splitting magical intent into several places all at once. She'd managed it by the end of the class period, but did in no way get it on the first try like she expected, which was annoying.

Their next class was Charms with Ravenclaw, and Bella made sure that she and Hermione shared a table, preferring the bushy-haired girl to her fellow Housemates so far. The look of shock she got for her efforts though, made her wonder just how deep the prejudices between the Houses ran. It also disappointed her. As if she would fall prey to such tripe. Besides, neither Hermione nor Bella grew up in the magical world so how could either of them become infected by such stupid prejudices in such a short span of time?

Professor Flitwick was a half-Goblin who was in every way, the opposite of McGonagall. Short, cheerful, and with a squeaky voice. Remus liked him a lot and had nothing but good things to say about him. He was apparently a Championship Duelist which was awesome, and a lot older than he appeared.

It was in this class that Hermione demonstrated just how knowledgeable she was. Bella knew half of the answers but wasn't exactly  _willing_  to answer. She'd never been good at speaking up in class and it had been years since she'd attended an actual school. She was already being stared at for being Prunella's long lost sister, she didn't want more attention yet.

Hermione had gained ten points for her House in that one class period. The Ravenclaws looked delighted even though none of them smiled in her direction. Would it kill them to show a little common decency to their fellow Housemate, especially if they were going to pat themselves on the back for their House gaining so many points in one day. It was like they were using her for her brain and not appreciating her as a person.

The Slytherins, sans Bella, Nott, and Zabini, glared at the muggleborn. Most likely because of that stupid prejudice they were so entrenched in. Bella thought it was all ridiculous. Though she had to wonder why neither Zabini or Nott seemed annoyed by Hermione's presence. Nott seemed interested in everything all the time, his gaze always blank and hands filled with a book of some sort. And Zabini seemed more interested in other things altogether. They were odd.

During their first class together, Professor Flitwick demonstrated the wand-lighting charm and instructed them on an easier form of casting. One could bypass the wand movement if they took a deep breath before casting. He then did the same for the counter charm.

Obviously, Bella envisioned what she wanted, took a deep breath, and said, " _Lumos_."

Unlike the little ball of light that had appeared at the tip of Flitwick's wand, that would no doubt illuminate a dark area decently, Bella's wand… set the tabletop on fire. She used the same incantation and imagined a bright light. But it didn't work. And the sudden flames made everyone near them all jumped back in fear.

"Oh dear!" said Flitwick, waving his wand to put out the flames with a jet of really cold water that splash everywhere. "Ms. Potter, I think you may be putting too much magic into the spell," Flitwick told her, making her flush in light embarrassment.

For the next several minutes, they worked on her powering of the spell because her incantation was correct and the wand movements were as they should be. Eventually, Bella ended up blinding the room because according to the professor, she was indeed powering the spell far too much. Which sucked. A lot.

"Five points to Slytherin for improvement," the half-Goblin squeaked, making her grin.

She'd won the House ten points on her own! She didn't care if anyone else thought it wasn't important, to her it was a big deal. Muggle schools didn't have things like this. Participation there was speaking up when answers were requested. Here, it was either speaking or demonstrating, and for once she was able to do it and not feel anxiety over it!

Thank God for small favours!

The class ended, letting them all head to lunch. Hermione was rambling on as they walked behind the girl's fellow Ravenclaws.

"Our Common Room is so fancy and it makes me think of something out of a Greek play. What's your Common Room like?"

She had to think about it for a second, having only paid minimal attention the night previous. "Um… we're under the lake, so the windows are all reinforced stained glass because of the water pressure from the other side. The water has a green tint making the already green windows glow eerily. A lot of dark colours and green like my eyes. The walls make me think more of a cave than the rest of the castle that I've seen, and there are a lot of snake statues and carvings everywhere. The rest of the decor is like something out of Jane Austen book but with a serpent fetish throw in."

That got her a snort from the other girl, who tried to stifle it with her free hand. Bella merely grinned, pleased to be managing this friendly thing well enough on her own. Befriending Amara was a very different experience. They basically rubbed of on one another for those three years and Bella worked up the courage to ask for her number before she left the school for good.

This was completely different.

The two separated to head to their tables, Bella sitting at the very end beside Blaise Zabini, whose hazel eyes watched her with obvious interest. "For someone who didn't grow up in our world, you're certainly doing really well," he remarked, but she saw it for what it was. A subtle way of trying to gather information.

Luckily for him, she was feeling generous.

She leveled the boy with a smirk. "I'm very much interested in learning new things so long as they are interesting, because they can benefit me later. Coming here knowing nothing wouldn't have been very beneficial to my plans, Zabini. I already know a majority of the course work for the first term and am relatively confident in my abilities. Can you say the same?" It was a subtle jab at his intelligence, and he obviously got it. But he seemed to find it amusing instead of insulting, eying her up and down a few times, before shrugging and returning to his meal.

Bella didn't know what that meant, but took it as a victory since he didn't speak up. She had the last word, she won. Simple.

While eating, Bella pulled out a piece of parchment and a fountain pen, and began doing her Charms essay right there on the table. She remembered what the professor had wanted them to discuss in detail, and also remembered the section of the book it came from, and didn't have to reference anything. It seemed for Charms, theory was much easier to handle. For now.

Thank God Aaliyah had put her through all those pop quizzes to prepare her. If all homework was like this, she'd need one of those quills that wrote whatever you dictated to them. Or maybe she could get Remus to charm a pen to do the same thing.

She wasn't oblivious to Zabini's staring, but didn't care enough about it to call him out on it.

They had Herbology after lunch, which was very easy in her opinion. It was gardening, but like ten times more dangerous. And in this class, which was shared with the Hufflepuffs, Bella learned that Neville Longbottom was a pro at plants. He seemed to calm down a lot when near them. She wondered if he even noticed how they practically reached for him. Like they used to for her.

She wondered if all these things were new or if they'd been happening all her life and she'd been too thick to notice.

Professor Sprout was another nice professor and she was all smiles and warmth during the class period.

For a first day of classes, it went pretty well. All she had to do was continue ignoring all the whispers about her and the Potters - unless she personally caused them - and her school life would be great.

* * *

Remus smiled soothingly as he poured Belladonna some tea. Sirius was running a little late thanks to assignments on broom safety and handling, needing to be graded and him not being allowed to simply ignore them. But he would join them eventually. "How was your day?"

Bella proceeded to regale him with her tale of being in an actual school for the first time in years. And she complained very heavily about how over-filled her bag was, how crowded the corridors could get, and annoyed she was with Charms.

"Charms and Transfiguraiton are different and require different areas of focus. Transfiguration changes the object, Charms changes the  _duty_  of that object. One requires a lot of magic, a sharp imagination, and strong will power. The other requires strong will and exact magical control in order to force the object to do something it was never meant to. You have a lot of magic but lack in control of it, therefore you will struggle with Charms until there comes a time where you can refine your technique.

"Sirius was much the same way. He excelled in Transfiguration but was terrible at Charms for his first three years until one day, everything clicked and he just got it. I'm certain you will get it too if you try hard enough and don't give up."

The girl grumbled a bit but sighed and agreed. "Charming objects is more difficult that charming open space."

She probably meant like with the protective enchantments Sirius had taught her. "That would be because there is no physical substance in air. Therefore it is easier to manipulate a seemingly empty space."

"You should totally be a teacher."

Remus would love to be. If only it was actually allowed. It would be nice.

* * *

The Headmaster's office was the same as usual when James and Lily came through. They hadn't expected anything to change in the office itself, but they knew things had surely changed in the Headmaster simply because they had visited during the summer and had lied through their teeth about how excited Belladonna was to attend Hogwarts with her sister and how she'd been looking forward to it. And the old man hadn't even questioned them and simply twinkled at them while eating his sweets.

There was no way he'd missed any of the rumours circulating that day, nor could he have gone uninformed considering a Hogwarts Professor would have had to visit the girl in person to explain magic to her. And professors always brought possible concerns before the Headmaster to gather his input and possible advice on how to handle the situation.

When they were both faced with his Disappointed Look™ they knew they were in trouble. Such a look that was never aimed at them before. It wasn't as amusing when on the receiving end of it.

"I see you have come to face the music, as the muggles say."

Damn it! He definitely knew!

"We'd like to speak with Belladonna," James asserted, deciding that he would put forth an unaffected front for as long as possible. If he pretended that he was unaffected, nothing could actually affect him.

"Certainly, certainly."

Albus waved his wand and two piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. He scribbled something on each, and they folded themselves into airplanes and zoomed from the room.

"Why are there two?" Lily demanded after a second. "We only need Belladonna."

Albus' blue eyes twinkled, but not with joy. More like amusement at their expense. "Surely this is a parental matter and you wouldn't begrudge Sirius his rights? We wouldn't want a repeat of the last time you did that, would we? Things don't seem to have worked out all too well because of that from what I've learned."

Fuck! He really knew a lot. Sirius had no doubt been talking. And that meant nothing good in the end because he could be persuasive and there wasn't much that seemed salvageable from this situation.

The couple shared a look of worry.

When the door to the office opened, the found themselves looking at an unknown, dark-skinned woman who was lead into the room by Sirius. And following behind them, was their daughter, whom they hadn't laid eyes on in ten years. She was relatively the same size as Prue. Maybe a little shorter. And she looked vastly different too.

The whole situation did not look good even to James.

"Who is she?" Lily asked, pointing at the very obvious stranger whom they couldn't understand why she was even there.

Sirius grinned. "That's Bella's muggle guardian, whom has officially been her second mother by blood since 31 July of this year."

The woman took a menacing step forward. "I'm Aaliyah Michaels and I would  _love_  to know what the fuck was going through your heads when you abandoned your daughter and never bothered to check up on her ever  _once_  to see if she was okay?" Michaels, who was taller than both Lily  _and_  James, demanded as her shoulders twitched unnervingly. Her sharp smile made James think of a shark and her teeth were a blinding shade of white in contrast to her skin.

"P-Petunia sent us letters back saying she was fine!" Lily sputtered. "How were we to know that she wasn't still living with her?"

Michaels hummed and looked at Belladonna, who was smirking. "I don't know," the woman wondered aloud, almost lost in thought. "Perhaps getting off your arses and actually going to visit her yourself instead of giving all of your attention to that spoiled little brat you decided was more important than your other child. I may be a bit mad for thinking that a decent parent wouldn't abandon a child when it's unnecessary at all. Sorry for such progressive thinking."

"We didn't abandon her!" James hissed. "We were paying for her to be taken care of. Every bloody month! Petunia was accepting the money without complaint! If we had known she planned on moving without telling us, none of this would have happened."

"You dumped a baby onto people who hate you for being abnormal and living in a world that was abnormal to them. You assumed that everything was fine. And you, Carrot Top, actually grew up with the bitch and yet you really thought that she was going to raise your child happily?" Michaels countered with a fierce glare. "You abandoned her because you made all these stupid assumptions with your misplaced righteousness, that ended up being totally wrong. Let's call it as it is. You're both idiots."

James could feel his wife quivering under the other woman's stare, and stepped in front of her, though it only served to make  _him_  the focus of her ire and it made him uncomfortable.

In the meantime, Sirius stood back with Belladonna, and both had near identical grins on their faces. They seemed to find the entire situation laughable and a glance in the Headmaster's direction showed that he was in obvious agreement with Michaels' words.

"So you came here in an attempt to get information on the kid and possibly force her back into your shite family, but she doesn't want to go with you. She doesn't know you and doesn't think of you as family. And when Sirius and I are through with you, the entire magical world in Britain will know about what you did. Congratulations."

"Why don't we ask Bella, huh?" Lily suggested, stepping around James in order to face their daughter, eyes imploring. "What does she have to say about it?"

"Don't act familiar with me," the girl sneered, eyes glowing like the Killing Curse. Her tone was even more sharp that Michaels' was. "We are not family. We are not friends. You didn't want me. Very simple. I understand. You're the reason I was abused and ended up in a orphanage. You're the reason I had to see a therapist for years. You are going to rue the day you cast me aside in favour of that spoiled brat you've turned your other child into."

She then looked toward the Headmaster. "May I return to the Slytherin Common Room, sir?"

"Of course. I'm sorry for the interruption, Ms. Potter."

The girl hugged Michaels and fist bumped Sirius before taking her leave. She didn't even look back at them once. Didn't even seem to care.

Sirius then turned his attention on the Potter couple, his grin darkening by the second. He resembled his mad cousin more than ever before. "I've already filed the paperwork to take you to court. You're not getting out it and you can't hide the facts. There are more people involved than you'd think."

They were left standing in Albus' office, gaping in shock and terror at what a court case was going to do to their reputation. James needed to get his lawyer on it now before it got even worse!

* * *

**The Potter Family's Dark Secret!**

People of Magical Britain, I am sure all of us hold nothing but the utmost respect  
for the Girl-Who-Lived and her family. As they contributed to the downfall of the  
Most Powerful Dark Lord in Great Britain's history, we have all looked to them as  
examples to follow. We hope to emulate the goodness we see in such a well to do  
family.

But the Potters have a dark secret that they have tried to keep hidden from us all  
for years, folks!

Some may have forgotten, but Prunella Potter has a twin sister that was born 13  
minutes and 13 seconds before she was. This sister's name is Belladonna Pandora  
Potter. Over the years, we haven't seen hide or hair of the eldest Potter child, and  
Lord and Lady Potter have only made a few vague comments on her preferring to  
stay home and study instead of venturing out among the populace.

That is in fact, not the case! And I understand your shock, dear readers, but there  
is more to the situation than meets the eye!

On 1 September 2011, Belladonna Potter arrived at Hogwarts, much to the surprise  
of most of the school who didn't know she existed. She was immediately sorted into  
Slytherin whilst Prunella was sorted into Gryffindor. Belladonna was overhead saying  
she,  _'didn't know Prunella'_  because she  _'didn't grow up with the Potters'_.

Yes, my dear readers, she did not refer to them as her family. She specifically stated,  
_'the Potters'_. Our sources, that asked to remain anonymous, confirm that she seemed  
displeased when mentioning them. Her attitude was described as _'boiling emotions in_  
_a storm of fury'_.

But if she wasn't living with the Potter Family like her sibling, then where was Bella  
all this time? Especially when we were told on numerous occasions that she was at  
home when the family went out?

Lord Sirius Black was kind enough to grant me a moment of his time to explain what  
he knew. Not long after the Potter twins were born, Lord and Lady Potter allowed for  
Lord Black to blood adopt their twins daughters, making him the third parent through  
blood and magic. As such, all decisions involving the children must include his input,  
by an old law of our people. After the attack on 31 October, the Potters spread word  
that Prunella had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and then sent their eldest  
daughter to live with Lily Potter's muggle sister, Petunia Dursley.

According to Lord Black, the Potters thought Belladonna was a Squib and decided to  
place her with Lady Potter's sister without even telling him. The horrible part is that  
said sibling hates magic and forsook her sister for being a witch years ago. Callous  
words from Petunia were often the cause of Lily Evans' anxiety in her younger years,  
which resulted in them ceasing all contact for four long years. Belladonna was placed  
with her because the Potters assumed she would end up like the woman, jealous of  
a sibling who had magic and now fame thanks to her defeat of You Know Who.

Though it begs the question, wouldn't growing around with such a person, make her  
even more like Petunia Dursley, than she would have been around her family? And  
why would the Potters, a notoriously Light aligned family, ever abandon a child of  
their line for not having magic?

To further complicate matters, the James and Lily Potter paid the Dursleys monthly,  
to harbour the child, but they never actually visited her. Petunia, realising what was  
going on, manipulated Belladonna's development so she would not know any details  
about her main or extended family, and then abandoned her at a muggle orphanage  
when she was five, but continued accepting the money for Belladonna's expenses  
until July this year. Her family appears to have left Britain as nothing of them could  
be found by myself or even Lord Black. The muggle law enforcement couldn't find  
the child's relatives because she didn't even know their names or even the address,  
as Petunia had wanted.

Belladonna Potter was adopted before she turned eight and has since lived with her  
adoptive mother, Aaliyah Michaels. When her Hogwarts letter came, she'd actually  
refused to attend the school and sent the whole letter back. But it was there that the  
entire story was able to unfold. Professor McGonagall received the letter, contacted  
Lord Black with her concerns, and they ventured into the muggle world to get to the  
bottom of this mystery that had gone unsolved for so long.

If any of you are wondering why Lord Black did not come forward with what he knew,  
I was already ahead of you. Here is his statement.

 **"The Potter Family had just been hailed as heroes. Everyone was so glad that**  
**Voldemort was gone that they wouldn't dare look at the family in a bad light.**  
**I'm a Black, and people still don't take my word even when I'm right, so even if**  
**someone believed me, there was no proof they broke several laws. Polyjuice is**  
**very easy to make and they never tossed any of Bella's possessions, merely**  
**giving them to Prunella. The ability to fake her existence in their house isn't**  
**difficult thanks to magic. An investigation would have turned up nothing. And**  
I would have looked like a liar. But they cannot hide the facts now and they'll  
reap what they've sewn."

And there you have it, dear readers. The Potter Family's darkest secret! Abandoning a  
child for being a Squib. But karma seems to have come all the way around on them,  
since she is magical, she has returned, and she is a Slytherin, which tells us that she  
is going to put her cunning and cleverness into the upcoming court case Lord Black has  
issued against the Potter Family for their misdeeds. Misdeeds that align more with the  
Darker nature of Pureblood Supremecy if I may be so bold as to draw comparisons.

As always, I will endeavour to learn more and keep you updated.

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

It was only the second day of school and already the rumour mill was working even harder than she had expected, especially since the paper had been sent out that morning. She could see people sending her twin dirty looks while others questioned why Prunella went along with her parents' lie. And Prunella was left to flounder as she tried to think of something to say.

The Potters had broken several laws. The fact that Bella was Sirius' Heiress made it all the more worse. She found herself vindictively enjoying the chaos as it unfolded, and hoped that it got even more serious as time passed. Sometimes there were incidents where people deserved to be forgiven. This was not one of those instances.

They deserved everything they got, and nothing would change her mind. Prunella would experience the backlash no doubt, and Bella didn't really have an issue with her beyond minor bitterness over her just accepting the lies. But she couldn't bring herself to feel bad for what was to come.

"You do not move slowly," commented Blaise that evening at dinner once she had returned from her first day of her odd schedule. No one had asked where she had went either, and when Snape didn't give her detention for it, they probably assumed it was sanctioned.

"Striking while the iron is hot bends it to my will," was her only reply.

She felt like an evil mastermind after saying such a thing, and it made her want to cackle, but she had more class than that. Besides, Aaliyah would be disappointed if she were to do something like that.  _'Never show your full hand.'_

"Um… excuse me?"

Bella turned, finding herself staring at a girl she was not familiar with, though the colour of her robes told her that she was a Hufflepuff. She also was not a First Year since she was way too tall to be a little kid. Probably a sixth or seventh year.

"Yeah?"

"Are you Bella Potter, the figure skater?" the girl asked, her magenta hair morphing into a sky blue. She was a Metamorphmagus, which was very rare according to Remus.

"Yes."

The girl beamed. "Brill! I'm Tonks, and while I don't deal much in the muggle world, their sports are really interesting and you've been slowly coming up the ladder."

It took a few seconds, but Bella finally realised who this was. "You're Andromeda Black's daughter Nymphadora, right?" Meaning she was distantly Bella's cousin.

"Tonks," she insisted, hair turning the same shade of red as a fire engine. "Anyway, wanted to tell you that I'm excited to see you advance, little cousin. I'll be cheering you on all the way!"

She patted Bella's back several times before stumbling off to the Hufflepuff Table.

"She's weird," said Blaise after a moment. "What's figure skating?"

"You know about ice skating?"

He nodded.

"Think of that, but faster and with dangerous stunts performed at the same time. I'm aiming to be a competitive figure skater and perhaps make it to Olympics some day. Only the best of the best become Olympians and I am not going to give up until I do. I've been training since I was six."

"Are you famous?"

"I... have a fanbase that continues to grow. The more gold medals I win and when I start setting unbeatable records, the faster I'll rise to the top. I have to be thirteen to compete internationally, so my fame is only local to Great Britain right now."

Zabini hummed his understanding and left it at that. Nott turned his attention back to his food.

* * *

Severus Snape rubbed his throbbing temples as he considered everything going on in his life recently. The eldest Potter child was sorted into his House, as expected. She was the very opposite of the other child in every possible way. She was also rather quiet, and seemed to prefer spending time with a Muggleborn than most of her Housemates.

He had escorted her to the Pitch that morning, and watched as she ran around it five times without even stopping. When he was her age, he wouldn't have even been able to make it half-way around at a steady run, but she took to it as if it was second nature. Considering the sport she had dedicated her life to, he wasn't surprised that she had become used to training so often.

It was far more rigourous than anything taught in Quidditch practices.

She had returned from her time in the muggle world the day previous, covered in sweat and looking like she'd been put through the ringer. But she was smiling and seemed excited. She had accidentally babbled about someone called Yuna Kim and how she couldn't wait to beat her record, whatever it may be for.

He didn't ask, because he didn't want to seem like he cared. Because he didn't. He was just a little curious.

It had been years since he'd seen anything involving ice skating, and to think that one of his students was willingly doing it because she wanted it to be her career, was astonishing.

Most children had ideas of what they wanted to be when they were older, but this was not the same. She'd decided at age six and had begun her training then because it was a fleeting sort of career and could only be done competitively while the body was still young. If she played to her strengths and her magic continued to help her, she might last a few years longer than the average skater because magical bodies aged more slowly than their non-magical counterparts.

His thoughts trailed to the other Potter child and found himself sneering in disgust. He would have never thought Lily would allow a child of hers to become so… pathetic, but that was indeed what had happened.

He'd heard talk from the other professors. She wasn't doing well in Transfiguration and didn't seem interested in trying at all. While she had shown talent in the practical side of Charms, she didn't know about theory. She wasn't particularly skilled with plants, so Herbology was a bust. She seemed uninterested in trying anything. Because of that, her Twice-Blessed ability never activated because she had no care for anything at school beyond her Flying Class which was the only other one she excelled at so far.

Meanwhile the other twin applied herself and attained good grades on her assignments and her practicals in class were of the better ones in her year. Save for Charms so far. Not the best, but not even near the middle.

If he was honest, while Belladonna was a definite Slytherin, Prunella was not a Gryffindor. She had the cocky attitude he had expected, but nothing about her screamed courage or honour. She was inefficient and tended to ignore those she deemed beneath her notice. She didn't go out of her way to hex or jinx them like her father did, but she didn't pay them any mind either.

Not even James Potter had ignored people in his own House when he'd been at Hogwarts. His personality had many facets back then. He was an arse to Slytherins, but helpful to Gryffindors. And he bullied the other two Houses equally, but not to the same extent he did the Slytherins. To some people he was the kindest person ever, though many knew he was the complete opposite.

Prunella wasn't even like that.

And the article came out and wreaked havoc on the school. And Albus, all the while, sat back eating his bloody Sherbet Lemons and twinkling from his throne.

It was only the first week and it hadn't even ended yet!

* * *

If Voldemort had worried even minutely over how Quirrell was going to acquire the Philosopher's Stone, he needn't worry any longer. The drama surrounding the Potter family was going to keep many busy for quite some time.

Because the twins needed specific assistance for their individual careers, certain professors who had begun to meddle in things they shouldn't have meddled in, would have to divide their attention even more. And with the public focusing so much on the possible fall of the Potter family, Voldemort's plan could come to fruition just fine now.

Quirrell had spoken to both girls in their shared class period. Both ended up being naturals at the practical side of Defense. Neither seemed particularly interested in pursuing the theoretical side. And that was a problem that Voldemort chalked up to laziness. And one was a Slytherin so she shouldn't be lazy!

Belladonna was fortunate to have befriended the mudblood girl Granger because the girl was obsessed with learning anything and everything she could get her hands on. And she had already begun to devise a schedule for them to study with.

Prunella on the other hand, had no one who would push her to excel in class. And he had a feeling that she wouldn't be motivated to do anything anyway.

And people honestly thought she was his defeater? It was laughable. He easily remembered the black-haired child and the affect the Killing Curse had on her body before she expelled it in his direction. The lasting result made her eyes even brighter than her sister's, setting them even further apart. He'd made her unique.

And the fools didn't even consider that to be a curious occurrence? Were they daft?

This worked in his favour in a sense. With James and Lily Potter focusing on their youngest, it would be easier for him to kill Belladonna with less witnesses. And ending Prunella's existence would be easy since she didn't show much of that aptitude she supposedly had. And she was rather fond of great heights.

* * *

"Someone broke into Gringotts!" Hermione announced the moment she saw Bella in the corridor. In her hands was the Daily Prophet and it was opened to the fifth page. "No one really paid it much attention since all of these articles about the Potters have been circulating. But I found it odd considering everything I know so far."

Bella, who had been walking with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, appeared confused. "Are wizards not used to robbery? It doesn't seem like a muggle only thing."

Nott shook his head. "The Goblins are a warrior race and they have rights outside the Ministry's jurisdiction. Trying to rob them would be the most foolish thing you could ever do and everyone knows it. And no one has ever managed to actually do it." He then turned to Hermione and asked, "Was the robbery a success, Granger?"

"No."

Zabini nodded. "There you go. Did they catch the culprit though?"

"Also no."

That had both boys frowning and sharing a look. "That's never happened before," Nott admitted. "Usually the person gets trapped and then the Goblins brag about how they got to suffer and the Ministry can't do anything about it. Of course they wait until the person is dead before fixing the trap and releasing the body to Ministry custody, but you get what I mean." His nonchalant way of approaching the subject made her shiver.

Hermione held up the paper. "It happened on Bella's birthday. The person was after something in vault 713, but by chance that vault was emptied not an hour previous. And I may have heard Potter- the other one- talk about how Hagrid was the one to remove the item under Professor Dumbledore's instructions. He apparently joined she and her father during their shopping and they went down together."

The three Slytherins all wrinkled their noses. "Odd," Zabini remarked, "that the moment Dumbledore has something removed from the bank, someone tries to rob it for that very item. And then this year, for the first time, the third floor corridor is off limits."

They all share a look.

"Well I'm not going to find out what it is," Bella announced with surety. "I'm not one for danger when it's off the ice, and this whole situation smells funky to me."

Hermione had stomp on her curiosity. If Bella thought it wasn't worth looking into, then she should probably keep her own nose out of it. She just found it strange, that was all.

"Let's go to the Library," Bella suggested, shifting her bag so it rested on her shoulder better. "I have several essays to do and I want them done yesterday. Thank God I decided to bring pens with me."

If Hermione had known that she would be allowed to bring pens and pencils, she would have brought her own. While quills and inkwells were certainly interesting, she just didn't feel as confident when using them. Especially since learning to use them wasn't the same as mental memorisation. Muscle memory worked very differently unfortunately.

* * *

"I hate flying," Bella decided with finality as she, Blaise, and Theodore headed back into the castle. "I do not like it at all."

The class had been standard and taken with the Hufflepuffs. Things had been sort of going well. The boys had stood on either side of her and had gotten their brooms to move into their waiting hands with ease. It took Bella a few tries but finally, she too had joined the small group of students holding brooms.

Sirius had instructed them on how to sit. Malfoy was told that he was straddling the broom incorrectly despite bragging that he'd been 'flying for years'. He then told them how to control their movement. How to slow down and speed up. All the works. A pretty normal class period. He even assigned an essay on broom handling and upkeep.

But then it changed. They weren't very sturdy in Bella's opinion. And it was nothing like riding a bicycle either. It was far worse than that which sucked because Bella didn't fancy biking all that much either. The boys obviously had prior experience so there was no struggle there for them, but Bella wobbled from one side to the other, and ended up relying on Blaise to steady her lest she fall over.

It had been nothing like her first time on skates. In fact, skating seemed much easier in her opinion. Natural and freeing. Flying was like a death trap waiting to happen. There were so many ways to fall...

And to to put her off from it even further, Neville Longbottom, the twitchy boy who always looked nervous, had lost control of his own broom which took him high into the air and proceeded to toss him about wildly, before dropping him. Several meters. And he ended up with a broken arm because of it, prompting Bella to hasten her landing in an attempt to extricate herself from her own broom. Because if those things could have minds of their own, then they weren't safe to be using, she reasoned.

She ignored the snickering of the two boys and decided that she would not rise to their taunting.

Flying wasn't fun. End of story.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[1]** That is a Taylor Swift lyric from her brilliant song, 'Treacherous'.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuing life with magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -We see some progression in this chapter. There are more bits  
> from other characters.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Aaliyah stared at the wall blankly. Ever since Bella's situation had been expanded upon, she'd had many feelings. None stronger than the absolute hatred she felt burning inside, for the Potter family. Never in her life had she wanted someone to drop dead before but when they learned that Bella was abandoned and her parents were perfectly healthy and financially stable, she had lost it.

How could they even think that something like that was okay? And the great reasoning they had was that a one year old girl was supposedly a super big bully to her twin and that was why they didn't want them to grow up together. As if that sort of codswallop would be accepted in a common court. And yet the idiots literally thought they'd come out of the case squeaky clean.

Magical people had a justice system of their own and since a lot of them seemed to think highly of their society and a lot of the people on the Light side were in charge, surely these actions couldn't go by without repercussion.

Aaliyah had just spent time on the phone with a police Chief named Markus, because of the Potters. Markus, who had been optimistic in informing her of the news of a possible conclusion to Bella's special case.

They were confident they had found the Dursley family, thanks to the actions of James and Lily Potter, and wanted to bring Bella in to identify them. Meaning Aaliyah had to contact Sirius, so he could get Bella to come through the Floo and they could head down to the address she had been given.

James and Lily Potter had actually been useful for something. Their presence in Little Whinging had alerted the neighbors who decided to contact law enforcement with their concerns over what little they knew of the situation. And now they might finally be able to make the Dursley family suffer for their actions.

All they had to do was wait for the Potters to get theirs now.

* * *

Bella had managed to be in class on her first day in DADA and she had to say, she wished it was a day where she went to practice instead. What she had hoped would be an interesting class full of learning how to protect herself with magic, ended up being a big joke. Professor Quirrell stuttered all the time and jumped at the slightest noise. All of the students had taken note of that fact and apparently made random loud noises all over the room in order to terrify the man.

She would feel bad if he wasn't such a shoddy teacher. And he was that way because of some run in he had with vampires over the summer which left him perpetually scared of his own shadow. The man had garlic strung up all over the room and even wore a necklaces of cloves as well. If he was this terrified of everything, should he have even come back to teach this year?

Also, being near him made her uncomfortable, though she didn't understand why. Her chest would ache a little whenever he focused on her for more than a few seconds. Right in the place where her weird birthmark rested. It was whiter than her skin, cold to the touch, and shaped like a lightning bolt. The mark rested directly over her sternum and had only ever hurt on the most random occasions before. But now it hurt whenever Quirrell stepped in her direction or even spoke to her, and it sucked.

The class period ended up being a dull waste and she did all the rest of her magic-related assignments then in order to free up some of her time. And one of the reasons she did her work so quickly was because she wasn't struggling with a quill like the rest of the students were. Thank God for small favours.

After the most disappointing class of her life, she had to deal with History of Magic, and she learned that ghosts droned on and on with next to no notice of the world around them. Binns merely floated through the blackboard and proceeded to speak in a low monotone, making the class super boring as well. It reminded Bella of that voice in her head when she was reading. Repeating everything her eyes had taken in but doing it so slowly that it became dull and annoying to pay attention to, turning her off to reading in general.

She had taken advantage of that situation and finished the rest of her muggle work as well, freeing her up for the time being. She also determined that History was worse than DADA. She hadn't thought it possible but that was indeed the case. Binns had been relegated to Least Favourite Professor. And she was glad to say she wasn't the only one who preferred Quirrell over him, even if it was just by a little bit.

At lunch she had to deal with two others coming up to her, both muggleborns, and inquiring about her career as a figure skater and asking about when she'd finally join the Juniors. She had to explain that there were age limits and she had to be thirteen before 1 July before the season in question began, for her to debut as a Junior skater. The two had been a little saddened, but told her that they were going to wait however long it took, which made her feel all warm inside. One even handed her an origami rose before they both scuttled off back to the Ravenclaw Table.

She had never expected people at Hogwarts to know who she was, but apparently her growing fame in the muggle world spread a lot farther than she had assumed. And since half the school was comprised of muggle-raised children, a lot of them would end up becoming familiar with her face soon enough. That was just how it worked. Athletes, even figure skaters, would end up with their faces plastered in the most random of areas.

She had a free period after lunch and used that time wisely, by joining her fellow first years for a study group in the library. She'd found herself sitting between Zabini and Nott, and further from the girls because they didn't talk about wizard fashion and what 'mudbloods' were doing that they thought was annoying. Also, Malfoy and his goons were at the center of the clusterfuck of annoyances and she was avoiding him. If only because he had an annoying voice that made her want to choke herself with her pen.

Nott poked her arm and leaned in close. "I'm surprised Draco hasn't tried to assert his dominance over you. He's already made the attempt with the rest of us though, over the past few years. He didn't really succeed with a lot of us. Blaise's mum is too terrifying to try and threaten and I just don't care because my grandfather is more terrifying than the littlest Malfoy could ever be."

Blaise's interest was piqued and he looked at her as well, expecting something.

She couldn't help but smirk at the memory of that first day on the train. "He tried on the train, but apparently the daddy's boy loves his parents enough to keep his mouth shut."

"Ooh, do tell," Blaise implored placing his book down in order to give her his full attention.

She smirked. "Simple. Sirius controls whether his family stays together and he's very interested in making me happy in order to make up for the ten years he missed thanks to the Potters and their stupidity. Bellatrix's marriage was annulled ages ago and Malfoy doesn't want his perfect life to be ruined by the shame of the Lord of his mother's maiden House interfering like he has the legal right to any time he wants, should he feel the union between his cousin and her husband isn't healthy."

Nott whistled in appreciation and Blaise snickered. "Nice. You know, he's a lot more Slytherin than his Gryffindor reputation would have you believe."

Basically, because Draco Malfoy couldn't cow Bella into submission like he had done to most of their year in Slytherin, he wasn't at the top of the hierarchy. It was glorious!

The three snickered to themselves, sending the Malfoy Heir knowing looks throughout the entire study session. And then they went to dinner together, Bella glad to finally find a more tolerable group than the other girls whom she'd been trying to avoid walking with when going anywhere.

She had a feeling that with a little time and perhaps a good lesson or two on how to view all people without the prejudiced shades they wore, Nott and Zabini could be really good friends too. It would take effort to wean them off of what they knew, but it was worth it. Already they were mindful of how they spoke whenever Hermione came around. It was a good start.

* * *

Her first Potions class was interesting. Professor Snape was a very… demanding individual. He also had expectations of his students, that she could understand considering the subject matter. He wasn't the nicest of individuals. Sirius and Remus had warned her ahead of time though, so she was mostly prepared unlike the rest who had all drawn back to some degree when faced with his attitude.

Now, Bella wouldn't have had any trouble personally since she'd actually read through the Potions coursework for all First Years, and knew what to expect. Potions was actually interesting since it was like Chemistry and she was good at that. However, several Slytherin Prefects pulled the group of firsties aside the day before and told them that Snape always asked questions in regards to review in the back of their Potions book.

This was the man's way of gauging who actually was there to learn and who didn't give an eff. It also let him know that those who weren't paying attention had to be carefully watched because they tended to mess up more often than any other student in the class, which was a hazard to everyone else considering the whole reason behind the class.

The Slytherins had all gone over the review during their study period the day before just to be sure, quizzing one another to be sure they all knew the answers ahead of time and could word them without directly copying the wording from the book. Snape didn't often choose Slytherins unless he was certain they could answer, according to Farley. It was unfair considering how he seemed to revel in the failure of the other Houses. Than again, Snape was the  _only_  buffer the Slytherin House had against everyone else. You win some you lose some.

Also, according to Prefect Farley, he never awarded anyone points, he simply didn't remove any from Slytherin and instead chose creative punishments that weren't visible to those outside the House, in order to keep the facade of unity up tight. That way the other Houses weren't aware of what was really going on behind the scenes.

In her first Potions class, she ended up sitting with Nott, who had looked as bored as usual, though that didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't alert. In fact, he'd already cast a spell around his cauldron just to be safe. Paranoia could be a friend in some cases and this was one of them. Hastily, she mimicked his actions just to be safe. Since they shared their class with Gryffindor, she wouldn't put it past any of them to try something untoward. Already, a few that she didn't know the names of, has begun to say insulting things along the lines of being 'slimy snakes' and other insults. As such, that prompted equally prejudiced responses from the snakes in question. And it just continued on.

Snape glided into the room then, his black robes billowing around him in a way reminiscent of Batman. She wondered if he knew that. She wondered if anyone ever bothered to call him Batman. She wondered if anyone was brave enough to call him Batman to his face.

He took roll, calling them all in alphabetical order. No expression when he reached her own name, but the moment the words 'Prunella Potter' came out of his mouth, his lips twisted into a very unattractive sneer that made his hooked nose seem all the more prominent, and not in a good way. "Our new celebrity," he murmured, sending the girl a narrow-eyed look.

The rest of the class was called one at a time, and then began the questioning. Of Prunella. He really didn't like her and it was all too obvious. And it was a bit unfair since it was obvious she knew nothing. Normally teachers called on multiple students, right?

She didn't know anything much to Snape's displeasure, and from the cocky look she sent the man, plus the arched eyebrow, she didn't care either. Bella could understand if it was boring to the girl, but to be so blatant over your lack of interest to the teacher in charge of said subject… Bella was astonished that they could be such polar opposites in that respect. Would she have been the same way if the idiots had actually wanted to keep her around? She shuddered to think of ever becoming such a... shameless being.

"Let us see if the other Potter bothered to read anything instead of staring at her own reflection for hours at a time."

The questions had been thus from the seventh to last page of  **Magical Draughts and Potions**.

When brewing the Cure for Boils, why take the potion off the heat before adding porcupine quills?

What is a main ingredient in the Forgetfulness Potion?

What is the most common potion that Horklump Juice is used in?

What is the less-preferred name for the Wideye Potion?

"If you add porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the source of the heat, it'll cause the cauldron to melt, and if it touches human skin, it'll cause the very thing it was being brewed to cure. Boils. Valerian sprigs are used in the Forgetfulness Potion. Horklump Juice is used in the Wiggenweld Potion. The Wideye Potion is sometimes referred to as the Awakening Potion though the name fell out of favour decades ago. Some Potions Guilds still prefer to use it however."

The man nodded. "At least  _someone_  decided they weren't above studying."

She smirked, knowing that she would end up getting something in the end. Just because Snape didn't award points, didn't mean he didn't award his Slytherins.

Prunella's glare would have been enough to set a tree on fire if it wasn't coming from a slightly pudgy eleven year old. The whole childhood look wasn't doing her any favours. Could a child even look threatening? Bella certainly didn't. Sometimes she resembled a porcelain doll, which was like the least threatening thing ever. When it wasn't in a horror film at least.

The class proceeded to brew the Cure for Boils, in which most of the Slytherins passed well enough, save for Crabbe and Goyle. Potter and Weasley didn't do so well together which lead to Snape forbidding them from working together again, and Seamus Finnegan blew his cauldron up somehow, making them all gape at him in confusion because he hadn't even started the actual brewing when it happened. He was still preparing ingredients at the time.

Then again, Finnegan had a reputation already as the pyrotechnic among the students. Though from the look on his face, it wasn't deliberate. Bella had heard tell of him setting everything on fire upon first try. And sometimes second and third tries as well. There was a rumour going around that he tried to turn water into rum on his second official day of school, and it exploded in his face, which was why he had no eyebrows.

Snape's reaction was not pleasant though and she would not forget the many synonyms to the word ' _dunderhead_ ' that the man came up with on such short notice. He was like a thesaurus.

* * *

"That's them," Bella confirmed as she stared at the photos on the desk. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley stared up at her from one of their ridiculous family photos. They looked exactly the same save for Vernon and Dudley's very obvious weight gain. "They haven't really changed either. Walrus, Giraffe, and baby Whale."

Chief Markus nodded, pushing the photo aside in order to draw her attention to another photo. "This is the neighborhood they formerly resided in. Is this the same neighborhood you saw form the windows?"

She nodded. "I recognise the garden at No. 5. Petunia was always complaining about Mrs. M. always trying to take her place for best garden. Mrs. M. had a lot of rose bushes of different colours and Petunia didn't like it for some reason."

"That coincides with our information. The family in #5 are the Marstons and they've lived at Privet Drive for fifteen years and Mrs. Marston was the only person capable of growing white roses without them dying."

"So how are you going to handle this?" asked Aaliyah. "They're in Australia now."

"They'll be extradited and brought back over. And then it'll be determined if a trial is necessary despite all this evidence we've collected. They might just get sentenced immediately for all we know. But they need to be here first."

"Is there a chance they could walk away from this without punishment?" Bella asked. If there was, Sirius was going to flip his lid.

"A very small chance unfortunately, but we'll work together to make sure that doesn't happen. I promise."

Sirius was going to be a cross between pleased and aggravated, she could see it now.

* * *

"Where do you disappear to every other day?" Nott asked about a week into the term. Apparently the curiosity had finally gotten to him. She couldn't blame him though since Snape was obviously in on it and that made it more interesting.

"Training. Some law forces the school to work around my training schedule thanks to a contract I signed. I have to keep up with my muggle schooling so the muggle government doesn't get suspicious and start looking into things. Having fame over there means a lot of attention and muggles can get information in seconds nowadays. So to them I'm still being homeschooled and I have to do extra work on the side just to be safe."

He looked horrified at the thought of doing twice the amount of work than usual. "And you find skating so important that you're willing to suffer through this?"

"Five years of training would be a shame to let go to waste you know. And I feel it's worth it."

"If you say so."

* * *

Prunella Potter's first week at Hogwarts did not go as she had hoped. Her family was under suspicion. She had been warned by her father not to say anything to anyone who had questions in case it could be used against them later. Her parents' biggest mistake was coming back on all of them and it was causing her a lot of grief!

Snape was an arsehole who asked impossible questions. Who would actually know that stuff at eleven years old? And when she'd checked her potions book, she found the questions in the very back, but who literally read an entire book before the first class on said book? That was too much work for something so boring.

It was unfair!

And her twin had just coasted on by without even a glance in her direction!  _Everyone_  wanted to look at Prunella! She was the Girl-Who-Lived! Everyone wanted her in some form or fashion! But not her twin. Belladonna didn't seem to give a damn about her at all and only spent her time doing boring school work and just studying with her friends.

It was annoying to be ignored since she was so used to getting attention. And she still had people's attention, but it wasn't the kind she was used to. Nothing adoring about the majority of it recently. Already she'd been sent a ridiculous amount of mail inquiring about her family's actions! Why couldn't they send their questions to Lily and James? The very people responsible for the law breaking. It wasn't Prunella who had done it but people were choosing to lay blame at her feet as well.

She'd heard some students whispering about her sister being a  _'rising sports star'_. And people were always walking up to her and asking her questions and asking for her autograph. No one did that for Prue anymore. And they didn't smile like they did for Belladonna too.

Deep down, Prunella was happy she didn't have to share space with another when growing up. She got what she wanted, when she wanted, and a sibling would have gotten in the way of that. It would have split her parents' attention up too much. Her parents were already distracted by their arguing all the damn time and Prue didn't want anything else to muck it all up.

And so long as her parents did what she wanted, then everything would remain fine on her end.

But... she saw the way people reacted around her twin, and wondered what it was that made them so interested and excited. Prue hadn't even heard anyone ask her for money yet! How did Belladonna do it?!

Did people simply want things from Prue's family because they were very obviously wealthy? Seventh wealthiest family in the Gringotts Britain Branch to be precise. Sure Belladonna had Sirius Black on her side, but that wealth wasn't hers and wouldn't be any time soon. She had no control over the Black Estate or its finances so going to her would be fruitless anyway.

But still. Prue's family was often hounded for donations, hand outs, time, effort, and appearances. People expected certain things from those who were famous. Or maybe just those who were famous on the magical side?

Belladonna's fame was muggle related so it wasn't shocking magic-raised children wouldn't know her. Did muggles approach fame differently perhaps?

It wasn't fair!

* * *

"Hermione!" Bella yelled as she ditched her group in order to catch up with the Ravenclaw girls where Hermione was walking. She was behind the girls a bit, and Bella could tell she'd been excluded, which annoyed her a lot. Did the Ravenclaws know nothing about solidarity? How dare they take credit for Hermione winning them all those points all the time and yet treat her like rubbish when she was around!

The brunette smiled when she saw Bella running toward her. "Hi. Didn't think I'd see you today."

"I'm about to head off to Sirius' office but I had to find you first." Bella shoved the bag she'd been carrying, into the other girl's hand. "I had to get some help to get everything but I still managed in time. Happy birthday!"

The blue bag was acquired at a muggle store as well as half of the gifts inside it, but the books were all from Hogsmeade, which they weren't allowed to visit until Third Year. Remus had been a real chap and had gone down to get books on subjects she thought Hermione would like, in Bella's stead.

The girl, officially twelve years old now, teared up a bit as she accepted the gift. "Thanks, Bella. I've… never gotten something that wasn't from my parents before."

"Then I look forward to changing that."

If no one wanted to be Hermione Granger's friend, then Bella would gladly be the one to do it. Their loss.

People were simply unappreciative jerks.

* * *

The first month of her new schedule passed by rather quickly. And she even had a small competition that she participated in at the rink. It was only a local thing, but a lot of people had shown up to watch and their cameras were out and ready and that meant a lot of videos had been taken.

Aaliyah and Bella had worked together on the choreography and Bella, for the first time in front of an audience, busted out a Triple Loop. The announcer, who was from NISA specifically, had been so amazed that she came up to Bella after the winners were announced - Bella won the first place certificate obviously - and congratulated her.

"I can see that you've been improving at a very fast pace," the woman, Lisa Kitteridge, said, her brown eyes glittering. "Your jumps are impressive and you have certainly advanced in them as well as your Spirals. However, I would advise you to take some time to work on your speed and footwork. I take it you do not want to stay in the Junior Division too long once you reach it, yes?"

Bella had nodded.

"Then you need to round out your skill set as best as possible. A lot of skaters have one thing they are especially good at. When I was competitive, step sequences were  _my_  specialty. Unfortunately, I had a habit of being single-minded when training and my jumps suffered because of it. Don't let that happen to you. You're already at a level Junior skaters are supposed to be at, and the Seniors are infinitely more difficult. Take the next three years you have and put them to good use while you can. This a jack of all trades situation."

"Thank you, Ms. Kitteridge."

The woman smiled brightly. "I look forward to seeing you shake things up in the future."

Aaliyah had pulled her into a tight embrace when they got back to the house. "You were amazing, kiddo!" she gushed. "Even if you went and did a Triple Loop despite me telling you not to."

And she felt guilty because they had agreed upon a Triple Toe-Loop because it was the easiest jump for Bella to do. Toe jumps usually were. But Bella had gone ahead and raised the difficulty a bit by making it just a Loop instead.

As punishment, Aaliyah made her write an informative essay on the dangers of not listening to one's coach and acting without consulting said coach. Technically, the woman was right to punish her considering she could have hurt herself, so she didn't mind. She just wanted to impress the audience and the best way to do that was to do something unexpected. Also, with all the people recording the different programs, hers was going to make it to the internet in some way and would gain her more attention.

It was all about using the free exposure properly. She needed her name to become even bigger for many reasons.

Just because she had money now and would be able to fund her own career, didn't mean she wanted to spend all the money she now had on that. So the best way to get attention was to impress as many people as possible and use her fame correctly. Because then would come the sponsorships and deals which would be useful in the long run.

In order to be taken seriously in other countries when she finally got around to international competitions, she needed her name to spread quickly. She needed to establish the fact that she wasn't there to play games and just because she was dainty, didn't mean she couldn't kick arse.

She wanted NISA to pay extra attention to her ascent because she had plans and they involved learning Quads and setting an arse load of records some day.

Basically, there was a lot riding on her ability to please the people and the Association. And Bella was willing to do whatever it took to keep at it.

That was why she had essentially decided to attend Hogwarts. Her ability to heal herself was very useful and gave her an up over the competition. She couldn't afford to lose that by her magic getting sealed, now that she was finally getting somewhere. And if she had to do extra work in the long run, then so be it. Once she took the GCSEs she'd have even more free time on hand. And if she got a bad injury, she could go to St. Mungos now and have it taken care of a lot faster.

"We are going to be working on your step sequences in the next few months, so I hope you're prepared for Ballroom classes."

She could only imagine what influence ballroom dancing was going to have on her skating, but she was excited! She'd always wanted to learn how to Quickstep and Foxtrot because they were the more energetic of the standard ballroom dances. They also looked to be more fun too. And no doubt they'd help develop her stamina as well.

"Whatever it takes," she agreed without hesitation.

Aaliyah beamed and patted her head. "Why don't you go shower and do some browsing before going back to school?" She handed over Bella's camera. "I managed to record both of your programs and you'll be able to upload them to your channel after we review them and discuss what needs work."

"Thanks!"

The review was long and detailed, with Aaliyah going over how certain elements in her footwork were a bit shaky and how she would need to focus more. Despite being really talented for her age, she still had a lot of small mistakes that wouldn't cut it in official competition. Because those small bits would build up and up and lose her points in the long run.

She decided to upload the videos before going to shower, so that they'd hopefully be posted by the time she got out. Sometimes the loading on YouTube was ridiculously slow and she didn't have the patience to sit and watch the screen.

After an hour of messing around on YouTube, Bella Floo'd back to Hogwarts, gushing to Sirius about how she'd won and someone threw her a stuffed panda that was almost as big as she was. It was back home on her bed, and it took up half of the bed itself; it was great!

Though he didn't understand the sport all too much, Sirius was very much invested in her success and had promised to help in any way he could. He also promised to tell Remus when the man came back later on.

He then lead her to the Great Hall where dinner was taking place.

"Welcome back," said Zabini when she sat down beside him. "How'd it go?"

"I won. I performed a jump not usually done by skaters who haven't reached Junior level. I got some advice on how to improve from an Association announcer. I shared the videos of my performances, which are like coloured, extended photos with sound, on the internet and my fans who follow me got to watch and are super excited."

"That's a good thing, yes?" He obviously wasn't too interested in muggle technology, but he seemed interested in her career's progression. He at least asked questions and paid enough attention to her answers to ask more questions.

She smirked. "It is a  _very_  good thing."

* * *

"Someone in Hogsmeade was discovered with an illegal dragon egg that they were in the process of hatching in their fireplace?"

Something she had learned was that her first ever friend, Belladonna Potter, wasn't one to read the newspaper or watch for news in general. So it was up to Hermione to keep her up to date on information lest she hear the widely dramatised rumours that spread around the school like a wildfire. So far, the stories about the egg were wide and varied, and each as ridiculous as the next ranging from merfolk to cult followers. It was just a guy and an egg though.

"According to the Ministry, the man who had been in possession of the dragon egg claimed he'd won it in a card game from a dark-cloaked individual whose name he never learned and face he never saw. Hagrid was a part of the same game and almost won the egg, but only lost by a few points. They considered charging him for not reporting the offense, but decided against it thanks to Professor Dumbledore's insistence."

Bella frowned. "You know, I'm not too sure what my opinion on the man is. He seemed unhappy with the Potters, which makes him not my enemy at least. And I guess standing up for Hagrid is a good thing too. There isn't a law saying you  _have_  to report someone with an illegal dragon egg or anything, right?"

Nott and Zabini shook their heads.

Hermione was focusing more on Bella's comment about the Potters. She was very disappointed over the whole Potter situation. Every time Bella referred to her blood family by their surnames, as separate individuals than she, it made Hermione angry. Because they were liars! All over the books about the twenty-first century, were people painting the Potters as such a nice family when in reality they were the type to abandon a child for not having magic!

And now there was a lawsuit and Professor Black was relentless in his quest to see them taken down and Rita Skeeter had been printing article after article with speculation. And Bella didn't care so long as karma got back at the ones who wronged her.

Bella said she liked her life now and that she was glad they'd gotten rid of her, otherwise she would have ended up like her sister who was… not that great. She was the standard jock type who was incredibly arrogant and annoying. Nothing the books said she was, actually. It was like people didn't actually see who she was.

"I don't know why anyone would want to have a dragon in the first place," said Nott. "They're are dangerous and cannot be easily controlled."

"I think a dragon would be awesome," Bella huffed, sending him a glare that lacked any real heat. "I don't blame anyone who would want one. If there were mini dragons I've totally get one myself. I just think it was stupid to plan to hatch such a thing close to Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall had made a comment about Hogwarts possibly being one of the safest places in the world, but it was a school. And Hermione doubted that a school full of children could be safe when a dragon was nearby. She'd read all about them and they were, as Nott said, dangerous. "I have to agree with Nott. And it is pretty foolish to attempt to hatch a creature like that, especially near a school for children. They can do a lot of damage in little time. And one person cannot control a dragon on their own."

"From what I've seen in the past few months," Bella began as she switched from parchment to paper in order to begin her muggle homework, "is that magical people don't really have common sense to begin with. Their history is just filled with stupid decisions that wouldn't have had them in such complicated situations if they'd simply slowed down and thought things through."

That was very true. Even her fellow Ravenclaws lacked basic logic. It was disappointing considering she'd thought wizards would be a more mentally gifted people. No, they were just the same as their non-magical counterparts despite how half of them wanted to deny that fact wholeheartedly. Prejudice was stupid.

"I suppose that in order to remedy this very obvious failing in the magical community,  _someone_  is going to have rise up and make people see sense," said Bella, sending Hermione a telling look. "There's never been a muggleborn as Minister for Magic in Magical Britain, or so I've read."

She flushed immediately, touched by the fact that her first ever friend thought she was good enough to lead a community of people into a better, less wasteful, line of thinking.

"I don't think that'd work out, Bella."

Zabini scoffed but said nothing.

"Nonsense. We just have to break down those ridiculous prejudices. I firmly believe that people can change if they want to. I'm already working on Nott and Zabini, here. They sneer a lot less when I talk about muggle things and ask genuine questions more and more often now. And they don't say that ugly slur that Malfoy does when he sees you coming along. It's small and not very obvious on the surface, but it's still a step in the right direction."

Both boys had frozen while she spoke, but they didn't attempt to explain themselves.

Hermione couldn't help but find Bella inspiring and wondered how Bella could see Hermione as a leader, when in Hermione's eyes, Bella would be a better leader. The way she spoke made a strange mixture of emotions bubble up within the older girl and she had to turn her attention back to her work to keep Bella from seeing the tears forming.

"Mione, do you get History at  _all_?"

Grinning at the subject change, Hermione set aside her own work to focus on helping her friend with her muggle homework.

* * *

"So  _this_  is Potions homework," said Amara as she looked over Bella's notes. "For some reason I thought there would be a lot more graphs involved. You know?"

"Nah! Batman is more interested in getting us acquainted with lists and names really. It is just the First Year class after all. We aren't handling super dangerous stuff yet."

The look the brown girl sent her, made her feel a bit self conscious. "For the love of God, please tell me you don't actually call him Batman?"

Bella sent the girl an innocent smile. "I don't call him Batman  _to his face_." She would literally never have the guts to do that. It would be very rude to do so and the man hadn't done anything to lose her respect just yet. "But he  _does_  remind me of Batman. Not very happy, stern, wears all black, and has a long cloak that billows around him like B-Man's cape. But cooler."

Amara flopped back onto Bella's bed. "So tell me about your friend Hermione. Second friend ever  _has_  to make her important."

"I'm not replacing you!" was Bella's immediately response. She wanted it to be very clear that Amara was not going to be cast aside now that Bella had other friends.

"I wasn't worried you would. I'm just really curious."

"What if you become pen pals? I can pass the letters on for you."

Bella wasn't too certain she'd be able to explain Hermione easily, but Hermione could certainly do it! And if she and Amara ended up getting on, then they could all meet up during the summer and go and do things like normal girls got to! Because they were all raised on the non-magical side and could actually do fun stuff! Bella's birthday was looking to be more interesting this coming year!

Suddenly, the pen pal thing was the greatest idea she ever had!

"Write her a letter!" Bella insisted, shoving a notebook at her friend. "This can be so great! I'm a genius!"

* * *

Hermione looked down at the piece of paper that Bella had handed over. "From my friend, Amara," the girl had said.

**Hi,**

**My name is Amara Singh and Bella insisted that we become pen pals. I**   
**think she was hoping that we'd get along because I was her first friend.**   
**And since you're her second, it would be good for us to mesh well.**

**I don't know what she's planning but I know it'll be interesting.**

**So to start, I'm eleven. My birthday is in late June. I like reading and I**   
**tend to overthink things a lot. I'm studying ahead for my GCSEs to free**   
**up my time. I haven't really decided what to do with my life yet. I am**   
**thinking of breeding Kneazles though.**

**Oh yeah! I'm a Squib. My parents are also Squibs. So I know about**   
**magic. Enough for my favourite book series to be Little Witches, and**   
**for me to love Gloria Galaxy. Little Witches is a classic and would help**   
**you understand views in the magical world if you're interested. Very**   
**realistic.**

**What are your interests and how did it feel to find out about magic?**

**Hope to hear from you. I don't have many friends besides Bella.**

**Amara.**

* * *

Hallowe'en had never been a holiday that Bella had celebrated, but as a good portion of the magical community of Great Britain believed in gods and goddesses and the pagan celebrations, she knew that it would be important among her Housemates. However they called it Samhain instead of the muggle name muggleborns had brought over. And the magic-raised did not like the watered down version of Hallowe'en.

Hogwarts did not allow the celebration of Samhain the way the majority of the Purebloods wanted to. Instead they held a feast that was all sweets and practical jokes. Something that left poor Hermione frothing at the mouth in annoyance. And something that was unfortunate for Bella who was on a strict eating schedule so she didn't gain weight and ruin her knees and ankles when doing jumps.

Also, Magical Britain had made it a holiday to commemorate the defeat of Lord Voldemort. All over, people were thanking Prunella Potter for 'her service' like she was some soldier, and Bella had to stare in wonder. The thought of a baby defeating a fully trained wizard was laughable and yet they all just believed it without hesitation! She really wondered how he was defeated because it was such an impossible thing for a guy that no one could kill supposedly after eleven years of nonstop violence and suffering at his hand.

Bella doubted he was even dead and was just in hiding for the time being until he wanted to try again. And the sheeple of Magical Britain would prefer to believe a ridiculous story than for a second think that Voldemort was still at large. Because him being alive would ruin their perfect lives or whatever. She didn't know personally what it was like to suffer because of him, but it just seemed so stupid to ignore the possibilities so obviously there.

Now that she knew what she knew, Hallowe'en was a day of… bitterness. The events of that night all those years ago, were what lead to the morons abandoning her with the Dursley family in the first place. Because they just wanted to dote upon their spoiled daughter and had no qualms over getting rid of one of their children. She wondered if they'd always preferred Prunella over Bella.

And then they had the audacity to come to the school on her first day of classes in what was no doubt an attempt at manipulating her with whatever sob story they'd concocted. She may have appeared calm and unbothered at the time, but inside she had been suffused with rage and wanted dearly to smack the redhead who dared to cry when karma came back like a bitch in heat and bit her on her shapeless arse.

Bella sat beside Blaise wondering if maybe she should have dragged out her evening at home instead of coming to the feast. The only relatively healthy thing available were the chocolate dipped apples that filled the bowls lining the tables. Bella grabbed four because while she wanted to eat all sweets because that was every child's dream, she still had to be responsible toward her eating schedule. Once she was full enough on apples, she grabbed one of the chocolate bars filled with nuts and munched until her heart was content.

A ways down the table, Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing their faces unattractively, much like her cousin used to, and Malfoy was pouting for whatever reason. He tended to pout more and more as the days passed and no one cared to know why. Not even Pansy, who was usually up his arse one way or another. After the first few times she asked and he refused to answer, she gave up, which everyone else was grateful for. Her voice was like a mix between a cat in heat and nails on a chalkboard. Horrible.

The floating pumpkins around the room shuddered for a second, making her look up in alarm. Something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what. No one else seemed to notice though.

The double doors to the Great Hall burst open loudly, revealing Quirrell with his purple turban all messy around his head, who screamed at the top of his lungs, "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"

He stopped halfway down the center aisle and mumbled, "Thought you ought to know." His face met the stone floor in the next second and the entire Hall erupted into chaos as students screamed in terror and began to run around. Bella minutely wondered if his nose broke upon contact with the stone floor. That would hurt later on.

On a more pressing note, Bella wondered why he hadn't dealt with the Troll himself. The man was the DADA professor. His duty was to defend. That was the entire purpose of his class. If he couldn't even go up against a Troll which was of the lowest danger levels in terms of Magical Creatures, then should he really be teaching DADA to begin with?

Dumbledore called the room to order and told the Prefects to lead the students back to their dorms.

"We're in the bloody dungeons and the Puffs are our neighbors in the basement," Bella noted as they formed a line. "We all go down together. Why are we being told to go down to where the blasted thing was last seen?"

Zabini scoffed from behind her. "No one gives a bleeding damn about Slytherins, Potter. They'd probably hope we'll get killed."

In front of her, Nott was nodding.

The problem was, she had a feeling it wasn't off base for most of the school. Dumbledore didn't  _seem_  like the kind of person to not care about the safety of his students though. But she was still disappointed. Aaliyah was going to be... angry.

Stepping out of the Great Hall, Bella was accosted by Hermione of all people, who was  _not_  with her own House like she was supposed to be. And Hermione loved rules so her not following instructions was a big deal and a cause for concern.

"The bloody hell are you doing?" the girl asked as Hermione yanked repeatedly on her arm.

"It's Neville Longbottom. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had Charms today and he apparently didn't do well on his Levitation Charm. Weasley was mocking him and saying he should just go home because he had no friends and no magic, the Gryffindors were snickering with him, and no one has seen Neville since the class ended and Susan said she saw him run to the lavatory to cry. That was five hours ago!"

Every time she turned around the Gryffindors lost points in Bella's eyes.

"Okay fine. We'll go find him."

She slipped away from the Slytherins, but was halted because Zabini had grabbed the back of her robes. "Are you mad?" he demanded, looking cross. "There is a creature that can kill you haunting the school and you plan on messing around in the corridors for Longbottom of all people?"

"He doesn't know and could get hurt. Of course we're going to find him. What kind of people would we be if we didn't when we could?"

She and Hermione dashed off, only to hear more footsteps coming up behind them. As it was, both Zabini and Nott were joining.

"A Slytherin always needs to be in a group of three or more," was Nott's only comment, but Bella wasn't fooled. They cared and simply didn't want to show it.

" **AAAAAAAHHHHHHH**!"

The first floor was empty and that was how Bella was certain that no one but them had heard the screaming coming from the boy's loo.

"The Troll left the dungeon," Hermione whispered in horror. In one part that meant the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were safe. On the other...

It was in the bloody bathroom with Neville Longbottom!

CRASH!

BANG!

They collectively flinched at the loud noises and Bella was already heading toward the large, open door down the hall. She could heal. If something bad happened, she'd come out of it just fine... eventually, she was certain. It was better for her to go first just in case.

The Troll was big, green, and ugly. And it carried a club that was bigger than any of the First Years, which it used to completely destroy a porcelain sink as it aimed for Neville who was crawling under them. The sound that came from the destruction was ear-splitting and worse than Pansy's voice. Another wild swing destroyed several stalls as well, scattering pieces of wood across the floor.

Without even thinking about it, Bella took a flying leap onto the thing's back, forcing it to stop attacking and instead begin trying to buck her off. It was like that bull riding she'd seen on the telly once, only far more dangerous since the Troll was much larger than any bull could get. And most definitely more dangerous. The thrashing had her body flying to a fro.

"Get out of here!" she yelled, holding on for dear life as the thing twisted wildly from side to side, trying to shake her off and failing. Her body was flinging back and forth and her shoulders hurt from the strain of trying to hold on tightly so she didn't fall. There was a  _pop_  somewhere and she grunted from the sharp pain in her right shoulder that caused her to lose half of her grip, leaving her dangling from one hand.

She saw two dark forms approach the sinks and lead another dark form away. The world was a blur of colours since the damn thing was moving too fast for her to see details. She hoped that meant everyone had left.

"Go, Longbottom!" she heard one of the boys hiss.

She ducked when a large hand tried to grab at her.

The Troll roared and the club swung toward its own head. She let go of the hold she had on its odd, fur vest, flopping onto the floor and groaning from the sudden jostling of her injured arm. She watched as the club made contact with the large, wart-covered skull, with a sickening  _crunch_. And the body was tipping… and tipping…

And tipping toward where she had fallen on the floor!

She crab-walked faster than she ever had before - and with only one mobile arm, she'd like to add - until the thing collapsed inches from her bent legs. It didn't get up, which allowed her to lay back and breathe for a minute as she focused exactly on where her shoulder hurt and what was the cause. That could have gone so much worse than it had. She could feel her own heart trying to beat out of her rib cage. That was enough excitement for a lifetime.

"Bella!"

Hermione and Neville dropped down beside her, pulling her up into a seated position and patting her down in worry. A hand brushing over her arm had her hissing in displeasure.

"You jumped on a Troll!" Neville said, looking amazed.

"That was so dangerous, Bella!" chided Hermione.

"Potter, you are mad," Blaise said from somewhere behind her.

"Of course she is," agreed Nott, "But we already knew this!"

They hadn't left.

"What is going on here?!"

The Scottish brogue could be from none other than McGonagall and Bella knew they were in for it.

Hermione and Neville helped her to her feet and she turned slowly, finding McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell stood there, all gaping at the sight before them. Her body was busy tingling though and she needed to calm down a bit. Her grip on her shoulder was very telling.

As no one seemed willing to speak, Bella decided to take one for the team. And throw Weasley and the Gryffindors under the proverbial bus while doing so.

"Weasley was bullying Neville for not managing the Levitation Charm today and the Gryffindors were laughing at him. Weasley told him he was magicless and friendless and that no one wanted him here and that he should go home. He'd been in here all afternoon and wouldn't have known about the Troll. Mione and I figured his safety was more important than following instructions, but seeing as Slytherin and Hufflepuff were told to go toward the place where the Troll was last seen, I think I'm right when I say we seem to be the only people who care about the safety of students."

She was bitter. Sue her. There was also a vindictive pleasure in watching others realise their mistakes.

And the fact that McGonagall looked properly chastised made her vindictive glee grow. Snape looked regretfully impressed and Quirrell continued to gape like a fool. She was choosing to blame him for this entire situation. If he hadn't run away from the Troll and done his bloody job, this wouldn't have been necessary. When in doubt, blame Quirrell. Her new motto.

Snape looked at Nott and Zabini. "Why are you two here then?"

Zabini stared the man in the eye as he said, "Slytherins must travel in groups of three at the least, sir. For protection."

Their Head of House smirked lightly and nodded once in understanding. He then turned to Bella and asked, "Your injury?"

"Dislocated shoulder. Not my first but still hurts like all the other times."

"I shall escort you to Madam Pomfrey. She will fix you up. Then we will alert Black and Ms. Michaels so both are aware."

"Yes, sir." She was reasonably certain she'd be healed up within two days. The last dislocated shoulder she had only left her in pain for about a day.

McGonagall took a deep breath. "Five points… to each of you. For showing such inter-House unity and concern for your fellows."

That meant fifteen points to Slytherin! Nice. Apparently people could acknowledge their mistakes. Suddenly she was feeling less bitter.

Also, the knowledge that Snape would reward them differently later on, made it all better.

On the way back to the Common Room, after their time in the Hospital Wing and Bella being fitted for a sling that she felt was unnecessary but Pomfrey, Sirius, and Aaliyah decided otherwise, Bella tugged the two boys into a one-armed hug in the middle of the corridor.

"Thanks for helping."

* * *

"Was that what I think it was?"

Bella, who had just gotten so low to the ice that she ended up losing position and sliding on her thigh for several meters, flushed. "Depends on what you think it was," she chose to say.

"Were you hydroblading **[1]**?" Aaliyah asked, sending her an incredulous look.

Bella sat up. "Yeah. It looks cool. I can think of a lot I can do if I incorporate that into my routines. And I want to be able to do it with arms spread off the ice. It'll be cooler that way."

Hydroblading was sort of like laying on your side without actual laying. Bella chose her left side. Her right leg came up and crossed over the middle of her left thigh, blade set firmly on the ice while her body nearly hovered and her left leg remained free and straight. The edge of the blade and the physical discipline of the skater, were all that supported the skater as they spun in a slowish circle with their body close to the ice. Some needed their hands for balance or as a guide but the most skilled didn't need their hands at all.

The skater had to keep their body tilted low and some were so skilled they could be almost parallel to the ice save for that single boot holding them up. It was important for the free leg to remain off the ice at all times.

Such a skill required intense physical discipline that she hadn't reached yet. So when she tried to do it, she fell.

But she had gotten pretty low before it happened, which was good news. She was also intensely glad that Aaliyah insisted on her wearing a thick jumper during practices, as well as a good pair of gloves.

A brush burn on ice, sucked.

"If you really want to learn how to hydroblade, I suppose we could set aside some time for that too."

Yes!

* * *

**Dear Amara,**

**My name is Hermione Granger. I'm twelve and my birthday is in mid-September.**   
**I also love reading and I fancy Tolkien. I'm none too fond of sweets but that is**   
**because my parents are dentists and I don't have them often.**

**Learning about magic was actually a relief. I always did strange things as a child.**   
**I once landed up high in a tree when I jumped. We couldn't explain how either,**   
**and another time I made a flower bloom in seconds in my palm. I didn't always**   
**tell my parents because I was scared of what they'd think, but then my Hogwarts**   
**letter came and it all finally made sense! It was nice to not be a freak.**

**My hobbies include learning as much as I can about everything. I don't like not**   
**knowing things. And then I play the piccolo when I want to concentrate.**

**Do you have any funny stories about Bella to share?**

**Hermione.**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroblading)]**  A Hydroblade is a figure skating edge move or connecting step in which a skater  
> glides on a deep edge with the body stretched in a very low position, almost touching  
> the ice. Several variations in position are possible, but one commonly performed by  
> singles skaters is on a back inside edge with the knee of the skating leg deeply bent,  
> free leg crossed behind and extended outside the circle, and the upper body leaning  
> into the circle with two, one, or no hands skimming the ice.  ** **\- Wikipedia.****

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So as the seasons begin to change, so do the lives of our characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -We are finally getting into what some of y'all have been wanting  
> since the beginning. And there are other things here and there as  
> well. Best to pay attention to all sections. Some reveal more info  
> this is kind of effed up if you consider the info clearly. Try to keep  
> an open mind no matter what.
> 
> -Make sure you've actually read the tags. I keep getting asked dumb  
> questions that could easily be answered if one would read the damn  
> tags.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

There were whispers after the Troll incident. Whispers about how a group of First Years had gone up against the Troll in order to save one of their fellow students. And when people pooled together their knowledge of who had not been present when their Houses returned to their dormitories, it was determined that Bella, Blaise, Theo, Hermione, and Neville were the only ones who could fit the description of the events.

Which lead to some students asking questions. What did the Troll look like? Why didn't they go and get a teacher? What exactly happened that had Bella wearing a sling for only a day afterward? When did she need a sling for only a day?

So far, the five children had glossed over the details, not feeling like reenacting the same scene multiple times a day for people. For a school where gossip traveled within seconds, it seemed they were very slow on the uptake when it came to real life situations and hypothetical/questionable ones.

Aside the the school's reaction, it was Batman's reward that would forever sit in Bella's mind. The man had called her, Blaise, and Theo into his office in order to explain the dangers of doing things without informing their peers, but also the benefits that came from stepping outside their boundaries. Blaise and Theo were raised with a Slytherin mentality from birth. Sacrificing their well being for someone they barely knew wasn't really in them. However the fact that they had broken firmly set beliefs just to help Bella help someone else, would leave a good impression on others outside of their House.

Slytherins don't unnecessarily put themselves in the line of fire if they can help it. And the situation with the Troll had proven that three Slytherins cared more about the safety of their classmate who was from a different House, than even his own Housemates did. And it bolstered Slytherin's reputation just a bit, making the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws less hesitant when alone with Slytherins.

Bella was still of the opinion that the House prejudices were stupid, but at least it looked like things could change. Of course she wasn't blind to the fact that a lot of this sudden shift was because of her specifically. She may be a Slytherin, but she was raised in the muggle world her whole life and was invested in a muggle sport, so she didn't come prepared with the same prejudices her Housemates had ingrained into them from their families. She was essentially a blank slate and formed her opinions on what she'd read and deduced and seen with her own eyes.

She was more approachable than her fellows, basically.

Batman had given them each a pass for a homework assignment in Potions. Didn't matter which one it was, all that mattered was that the pass was the equivalent of an Outstanding grade. At any point during their entire seven years at the school, they could hand in the pass in exchange for one assignment, and get an automatic O for it. And since Bella had heard that B-Man got word heavy once they reached their O.W.L. year, and had higher expectations for their work from that point onward, she knew such a reward would be more beneficial down the line.

A guaranteed perfect grade during her most stressful school years was fantastic!

Considering her O.W.L. year was also the same one where she'd be in her second year with the Juniors, preparing to join the Seniors, she knew it would come in handy eventually after all the traveling back and forth that she'll be doing eventually.

Aside from the events regarding the Troll, Bella had received an odd, red ribbon in the mail. And since she never got mail, it was very confusing. Still, unsure of what to do with it, she'd ended up giving it to Aoife as something to play with. And only when Theo saw it one evening, did he explain what it was for.

"That was a courtship-related ribbon."

And that was when Hermione and Bella learned about wizarding courting and arranged marriages. And while she was disgusted by both, who the hell was sending an eleven year old girl an invitation to court?

* * *

Lily tossed another stack of thickly bound letters into the roaring fire. Ever since Belladonna had appeared at Hogwarts and the rumours started spreading about them, with thanks to Rita of course, people had been expressing their displeasure in one way or another. Families from Voldemort's side condemning them for getting rid of a magical child just to pamper Prue, and families from the Light side that were angry that the poster family they looked up to for so long had dared to emulate Dark practices from the Pureblood traditions they were trying so hard to get rid of.

So many Howlers. So many harsh words thrown in their faces. So many people not even stopping to consider things from their perspective!

The Goblins were of no help either. They could actually do nothing in the situation because they had been completely unaware of everything going on. So all they had were documents about Prue's handling of her money, and that was it. Though their account manager did inform them that the bank had to send information regarding their holdings to the Ministry for the trial. And the history of Prue's account constantly being used while Belladonna's remained untouched until her eleventh birthday, didn't look good.

After all, with the way it looked according to the Goblin himself, it seemed like they were stealing their eldest child's money and hoping to keep her away from what was rightfully hers. That even if she had no magic, the money was still hers only and their plan to never tell her about magic, made them look like thieves. And the Goblins did not like thieves.

Sirius had already gotten to the Goblins and with them already detesting wand users, their relationship with their account manager was worsened considerably.

And yet James was still walking around and acting as if nothing bad was going to happen to them! And when she tried to tell him to take things more seriously, he'd started yelling at her about how it was her poor attitude that had somehow caused all of this.

Apparently it was Lily's fault that she wanted their daughter to learn like other children were supposed to. And how dare she try to make Prue do things she didn't like, such as school work, writing, language, and History.

There was literally no correlation, not that James seemed to care to understand that. And the shouting escalated between them as the blame shifted back and forth, until Lily's hand lashed out faster than either of them could see. Only the stinging of her fingers, the jarring pain in her wrist from the impact, and the way James' head was facing a different direction, told her what had happened.

It was the first time she'd physically assaulted James since their school years. And the last time was because he'd been bullying Snape something fierce while they were studying in the library, and Lily'd had enough and slapped him across the face mercilessly. She then dared him to hit her back, but he just ran away like a coward to lick his wounds while his friends tried to boost his ego.

And Lily would never forget the look of burning hatred on James' face when it turned back around so he could stare her down, making their lounge feel smaller than it ever had before. And she could see how his hands fisted at his sides in an attempt to control his mounting anger. But she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Do it," she'd dared him. Dared him to take that step he'd never dared to before.

But once again, James made an abrupt about face and stalked from the room, taking all the bad energy with him and leaving her trembling from a mix of adrenaline and fear.

Nothing was getting better. Everything just seemed to escalate within seconds between them. James didn't take anything seriously, reminding her heavily of his teen years. It seemed as if he never truly grew out of that mentality since he was still doing the same shite he was back then.

Lily threw the entire basket of letters into the fire at the sudden bout of rage welling up within. Things weren't supposed to go this way!

Her life was supposed to be better than this. She'd given up a lot just to have the life she'd always wanted. But it seemed like everything was just falling apart around her and there was no way to fix any of it!

What was going to happen to Lily in the end? She shuddered just thinking about the consequences.

* * *

"Aoife, for the love of God, please stop hanging out around here. Quirrell's office is down this corridor!" Bella hissed at the feline as she scooped her up. "We don't like Quirrell, remember? He's a twitchy little twat."

The feline rumbled at her, and from the woodwork, or really the crevices in the walls, popped dozens of Kneazles. Squished faces and lion tails as far as the eye could see. And all of them were staring up at her. Or rather, at Aoife.

Said cat rumbled a little louder, and the Kneazles scattered instantly, back into the crevices in which they came.

"Are you holding meetings in front of Quirrell's office?" she demanded, only to get a slow blink in return.

_'Kneazles have an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people.'_

"Oh my God," the girl said in realisation as the information she'd read months back caught up with her.

What was it about Quirrell that made the Kneazles gather outside his door? And should she tell Sirius and Remus about it? He seemed a bit too pathetic to really worry about though.

* * *

Bella finally had her first encounter with an older Slytherin who wasn't a Prefect. It had been well over two months into the school year and she had only minutely expected someone to come at her, but not a Fifth Year student. Someone closer to her age had been the presumed opponent since she'd be nearer to them usually, but then again, this was a lesson to not make assumptions.

The student in question was Miles Bletchley who was the current Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch Team.

As Snape had ordered, he'd waited until the First Years returned to the Common Room before doing anything. And that was when he swaggered on over, looking like a pompous git all the while, and shoved her none too gently into the cold wall.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked, reminded of that one time in the orphanage and what she'd done to the girl who had tried to start something with her. Bella wasn't above using force to deal with bullies. If they decided to target other people, then they lost any pity she might have had for them otherwise. Reactive violence were perfectly okay in her book because it was done defensively.

"You're not a true Slytherin, Potter. You're just some Halfblood, muggle loving bitch who doesn't belong here. You brag about your precious muggle sport like it's something important and act like you're better than the rest of us."

"Actually, I rarely talk about skating unless asked about it which only a few people have done so. So if you're feeling inferior to this 'muggle loving bitch' that is simply because you  _are_  inferior. I hadn't thought myself better than anyone until you opened your fat mouth, Bletchley. Thanks for telling me that I'm better than you."

That was obviously not the right thing to say to a teen boy who towered over her by several centimeters. She didn't care. Bella had no respect for bullies.

His hand dove into his pocket, no doubt to grab his wand, but Bella was faster, lashing out and kicking him between the legs like Aaliyah had taught her to. His plan was derailed as he instead moved to hold himself. His bent over form had his head close enough for her to grab his curly hair and force him to his knees with a sudden bout of strength that she was unsure about the origin of.

She'd always had a rather strong grip and if she wanted to put someone in their place, it would happen. So when he attempted to jerk himself from from her hold, it did nothing. Bella merely gripped and pulled even harder to teach him a lesson.

The room was silent with a mix of anticipation and confusion. After all, a small girl had just brought a burly, sixteen year old to his knees in seconds and he couldn't break free. What the hell was going on, they probably wondered.

"You know, my godfather, Professor Black, has been teaching me these interesting little spells to protect myself with. One will make you hallucinate your worst fear every time you think of me with ill intent. I'm interested in seeing what it does."

Her wand was in her palm a second later, and she tapped it against his skull thrice. " **Somnus Exteris**."

Then, with as much strength as she could manage, she slammed his head into the wall he'd tried to back her up against. It didn't knock him unconscious unfortunately, but it was enough to leave a large bruise on his face and make his nose bleed. The spell was enough as it was since he was currently patting his body madly in an attempt to brush away whatever his mind had conjured up.

Bella would have to thank Sirius for that little lesson.

"Anyone else got a problem with me and want to end up like Bletchley?" she asked the room, curious to see if there were any others willing to voice their opinions.

No one spoke or moved and she determined that everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be with a teen boy screaming on the floor of their Common Room.

"I'm going to my dorm. Bye."

She left them there, watching as Bletchley twitched on the floor. No one moved to follow her, nor did anyone move to help him.

It was what he deserved. And to think a common spell like that could cause so much strife for someone.

* * *

"You did  _what_?" Hermione asked, looking absolutely horrified at what Nott had told her when they met up for a study group in the library. Neville was gaping like a fish. Since Hermione had the best grades in almost every subject, it was beneficial to study with her. She picked up mistakes in their essays very quickly and was very good at doing written work. And if the Ravenclaws wouldn't acknowledge her skills, the Slytherins who weren't stupid, and a lone Hufflepuff they'd dragged along, gladly would.

Bella was more of a practical girl herself. Theory came with book reading and that was a struggle she didn't like going through if she could help it. And only half of her classes weren't a struggle.

"I wasn't going to let him push me around," Bella protested as lowly as possible so as not to draw Pince's attention. "There was no other way to handle that situation without coming out unscathed and just because I heal quickly doesn't mean I  _want_  to get hurt."

"You could have gotten in trouble!"

Zabini shook his head, stopping what would had no doubt been an epic tongue-lashing. "Actually, Granger, Professor Snape encouraged us to settle disputes within the confines of the Common Room because we can't look like we're not unified to the rest of the school. He also didn't tell us to not break rules in general. He said don't get caught if we do it."

She looked horrified. "And no one says anything?" She and Neville shared a look of utter horror.

"We're Slytherins," said Nott with a shrug. "If someone was to tattle to a professor, they'd have to admit to everything that happened. Admitting that you were picking on an eleven year old girl who didn't even reach your shoulder, and then got your arse handed to you by said little girl, wouldn't do you any favours. You'd implicate yourself in the process, as well as ruin whatever reputation you had with the person you're ratting to, plus our fellow Housemates, for looking weak. That is a true Slytherin mentality, but not everyone embodies it though."

Both Bella and Zabini were nodding along because that was simply how it was. Pretty straightforward in Bella's opinion. Don't be a nark and you'll maintain some of whatever respect you have left.

"Your House is mental," was all Hermione had to say about it in the end. "Are things like that going on in Hufflepuff, Neville?"

The boy shook his head. "No. Professor Sprout is very encouraging and the Common Room is very calm. What about Ravenclaw?"

"Um... I don't spend much time there so I wouldn't know actually," the bushy-haired girl confessed, face a little flushed.

Bella snickered as she switched from her History of Magic homework, to her muggle History work, which was even more unappealing than the first. At least magical history was new but she'd been repeating the same shite in muggle history for what felt like ages!

She couldn't wait for Christmas. She was going home then and would get to just rest!

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Bella once entered into a talent show for those ten an up, but she misread the**   
**information on the packet. She was only nine, and ended up being the winner.**   
**But then it was revealed that a nine year old beat out several dozen people by**   
**just playing the piano. The planner didn't want to tell her that she didn't count,**   
**because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but those who had also competed**   
**said that she'd won fairly. So she was allowed to keep the monetary prize, but**   
**was warned about reading things fully if she planned on entering competitions**   
**in the future.**

**I think they let her stay the winner because she had actually won by her own**   
**talent, and if they had given it to the second place person, everyone would've**   
**known they were just the default winner and they'd lost to a child anyway. So**   
**Bella walked home with a hundred pounds and a red face.**

**Bella swore she did not see the age restrictions, but when I saw the paper, it**   
**was in bold at the very top. I do love her but she's kind of dense. She said she**   
**thought 10-21 were the hours applications were being accepted that day. Not**   
**too farfetched considering the time, but still. To this day she's very anal about**   
**reading through anything and then getting Aaliyah to do it too just in case.**

**But you didn't hear this from me.**

**Anyway, she won because she got up there and asked one of the judges for a**   
**song they wanted to hear, and then made her own arrangement right there.**

**Amara.**

* * *

Petunia sniffled into her tissue. She didn't know how it could have gone all wrong! But it was Lily's fault!

As usual, it was always Lily's fault. And Petunia was always taking the blame for Lily's actions! And it wasn't fair!

"We didn't ask for her!" she tried to tell the officers. "They were threatening us into keeping her!" she lied, to make Lily appear ever worse in the eyes of normal law enforcement. "It wasn't as if we could tell people about her. How we got our hands on a child that didn't even exist! My sister is in a cult full of pagans! They're all freaks, the lot of them!

"You cannot tell me the child hasn't done better in life since we left her at the orphanage. You cannot say that we did wrong by her when we were doing our best to avoid their threats of harm, and avoid the government blaming us for my sister's illegal actions!"

There was not a sign of understanding in the various pairs of eyes trained on her.

As usual, Lily messed up and Petunia paid the price. She didn't want to involve herself in Lily's drama to begin with, for many reasons, and now there was a perfectly good reason for why.

Lily broke the law and Petunia had to reap what she'd sewn.

* * *

"Bella, have you finished your Astronomy assignment?" Hermione asked as she handed Neville his own essay back. Since she didn't have to make any marks on his, Bella was assuming that he'd done well.

At the sudden reminder though, the girl blanched and then gave her best, most innocent smile. The one that brought forth visions of porcelain dolls and kittens. "I mean... I  _started_  it."

Her friends all groaned. It wasn't the first time they'd heard that particular line from Bella. She was forgetful when it came to things that weren't interesting. It wasn't her fault!

" _What_?" she groaned. "You can't blame me; it's boring! How can I pay attention when it's boring and completely useless to my life? Have you seen what we have to read?" Big, thick paragraphs about things that she was certain weren't actually up to date with current information.

And since none of them had an annoying voice in their heads ruining reading for them, they would never understand her plight.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling in a fashion very familiar to Bella. As if she was no doubt asking whatever higher power there was, to grant her strength or patience. "How about you make some of that tea your godfathers got for you when dinner comes along, and try to finish the essay then?"

She slumped onto the table. " _Fine_ ," Bella grumbled into the wood that smelled oddly like cinnamon. "But I'm not gonna like it!"

Her pouting was interrupted by a red rose dropping down from above, onto her work space. This was not the first time it had happened but she was beginning to get annoyed. "Flowers are pretty and all, but not really something I'd want as a gift. Rather pointless in my opinion. They die quickly and serve no use." She proceeded to pick up the rose and toss it behind her somewhere. And no, she cared not where it landed. It wasn't her problem.

Neville shook his head. "Flowers can actually be very useful in potions. Red ones especially."

"But I'm not making potions right now and it'll die before I'll have need of it."

"True."

* * *

Amelia Bones took a deep breath in order to prepare herself for the rest of the day. She'd been informed none too subtly that she was to govern the Wizengamot meeting that day because Dumbledore was a witness and could not preside over them when involved in the situation between the Potter and Black families.

She had considered the Potters a great family even if they weren't on speaking terms most of time. Her duty as an Auror came first though and she was often busy. But she had seen the papers and the never-ending articles about the Potters abandoning their child for being a Squib. Rita Skeeter and her coworkers hadn't been gentle as they looked into everything in the Potter's past ten years.

She wouldn't have given them any consideration but the girl  _did_  go to Hogwarts. And her official name under Ministry documents was Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels. And she  _was_  living with a muggle who had recently blood adopted her with Sirius Black's blessing. And she  _had_  been heard talking about the Potters as if they were strangers.

There were simply too many mysteries to just claim this was some trick by Skeeter in order to get more readers. Too many holes in James and Lily's stories to make this just another elaborate lie from Skeeter's burning quill.

And this day was the day they all had to convene. After weeks and weeks of it going through the system and it having to be determined whether or not it was a case worthy of a trial, and James trying to delay it as much as possible as well, they'd finally come to the day that would forever change the lives of many. Those involved and those not. And it would forever leave a stain on their community no matter who won.

The room was massive as always, the gathered people whispering among themselves as they cast the defendants wary looks. The Potters looked as if everything was alright in their world and they weren't up for multiple accounts of law breaking. James was cocky as usual and Lily appeared to be unaffected by everything. Though with how she was wringing her hands, she wasn't fully unaffected.

It was that sort of attitude that rubbed Amelia the wrong way. Nothing about the situation was amusing. James shouldn't be so blasé about what was going on when his reputation was on the line, and Lily shouldn't look like a statue.

With a slam of the gavel, she called the room to order and introduced herself, as if no one knew who she was. The formalities were so annoying in these cases. The Wizengamot members were all seated primly though some with looks of anticipation. Others with looks of boredom.

"Lord Black, can you please explain to us, in your own words, why we are all here?" she asked the man. Since he was the one to launch this entire lawsuit, he got to start them off.

Sirius' storm grey eyes gleamed. "I am here because James and Lily Potter did knowingly and willingly make a life-altering decision about our blood daughter without even notifying me, and then withheld her location from me for ten years and counting. As she was named my Heiress when she was born, you should all be able to understand why this is especially wrong."

Heads bent together, people whispered to one another. Amelia took a subtle breath to calm herself.

"They claimed that Bella was bullying her sister for having magic. They convinced themselves that she had no magic despite I and even Dumbledore telling them otherwise. They would not hear of it nor would they bring her back."

Amelia looked to Dumbledore, who appeared to age ten years in a second. "Can you confirm this, Mr. Dumbledore?"

The man stood slowly, his age showing. "They visited me not too long after the attack to explain what they thought had happened. There was a very long rant about how jealous Belladonna obviously was of Prunella for being magical. I tried to tell them that I could feel both of their magic just fine, but they wouldn't listen. They then refused my advice on rearing the children away from the spotlight, and said they were going to announce Prunella's actions to the magical world. I was not aware of anything beyond that and am as disappointed as everyone else."

She nodded her approval and returned her attention to Black. "Where was Belladonna Potter during the past ten years, Lord Black?"

"Lily gave her to Petunia Dursley who is Lily's sister. In case anyone didn't know, Petunia was jealous over Lily having magic and grew very hateful toward magic in general. James said they had set up a payment plan every month to help Petunia raise her alongside her son. According to Belladonna, she was abandoned at a muggle orphanage when she was five, yet the payments for Bella never ceased being accepted by Petunia until July of this year according to Lily."

Amelia turned her eyes on the Potters. "Did it not occur to you to visit your child to see if she was doing well?"

"Petunia said she was fine in her letters. There was no reason to visit her if she had no magic. No reason to tell her about magic just so she'd grow up resenting us for her not having any," Lily said in a tone that she probably thought was enough to get her sympathy. Amelia felt repulsed instead.

"You left her because she had no magic and intended for her to never know you. You denied her the rights she had as your eldest child. That is a Pureblood practice I would never have expected from the Potters," said Amelia with a disappointed shake of the head. Dark families tended to do that, but never had a Light family done it until now. It was shameful.

Turning her attention away from the sputtering redhead, Amelia's eyes fixed on Belladonna Potter, who had been stoic up until that moment. The girl was sat beside Remus Lupin-Black, her muggle guardian on her other side. "Ms. Potter, what was your time with your aunt like? Your guardians have agreed to the use of Veritaserum on your behalf."

The child stood and waited for the potion to be administered before clearing her throat. Questions were asked and answered. And it wasn't good. Nothing she had to say was good. It was all horrible. Amelia had to wonder how many times the girl had to tell her story to other people.

Honestly, Amelia could tell that the Potters, while they'd most likely escape a steep sentence thanks to all their money, they wouldn't escape the social backlash of this. The girl's words just keep making everything worse. She'd been manipulated into not knowing anything that could get them caught. For muggles they had been very thorough in making sure their tracks were covered. And because James and Lily never went through the legal channels in either the magical or muggle worlds, they'd made it even easier for the family to get away with their actions.

Finding the Dursleys would be hell on the Auror force, but Amelia was certain they could do it if given the time to. Rita had all but announced that they didn't live in Britain any longer, which meant searching outside.

The next person to speak was the only non-magical person among them. Belladonna's adopted muggle guardian who was her mother by blood as of July that year.

Aaliyah Michaels was a physically imposing woman with a fierce demeanour. She didn't seem to care for the small sneers certain Purebloods sent her way as she explained her time in Belladonna's life once she was administered the truth serum.

"Kiddo was in therapy because of those arseholes. We were concerned that this whole situation would cause a relapse and force her back. Finding out your parents didn't care about you at all is a pretty tough thing to swallow. She swore she was fine though. She took to Remus' lessons like she did with everything else. From what I've heard, they're calling her ability to just get things immediately if she wants to, Natural Aptitude. It would explain why she's the best as everything she likes."

The Potters were shaking their heads. Prunella had remained quiet the whole time. She didn't seem to care about anything that was going on and was flipping through a Quidditch magazine instead of paying attention to the trial.

James' lawyer, John James Pickerton, tried to smooth it all over with his sugary voice. "Mr. Potter felt that raising a Squib in the Magical World wouldn't benefit anyone. Often times those without magic grow up unhappy and become bitter, much like Argus Filch. Placing her with someone they knew isn't such a terrible thing, ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot. They are not Seers. They could not possibly predict that Petunia Dursley would not be honourable."

Black scoffed. "But Lily was still fully aware that Petunia had declared Lily and the Magical World anathema to her, during their last correspondence, and demanded that Lily never try to contact her again. But  _sure_ , she couldn't have possibly known that Petunia wouldn't be honourable."

Pickerton glared in response and moved to argue, but Amelia slammed the gavel down once again to retain order. "Mrs. Potter, were you aware of your sister's opinion on magic?"

Lily fidgeted and refused to look up.

"Lady Potter, answer the question," Amelia ordered, voice ringing with the demand.

"Yes," the woman murmured.

Pleased, but also irritated, Amelia fixed her attention on Aaliyah once more. "Please continue."

"About a week ago, I received a call from the police informing me that the Potter's visit to Little Whinging, Surrey had alarmed some of the neighbors enough to report the Dursley family for possible kidnapping and child endangerment. With everything the concerned neighbors brought forth, they re-opened Belladonna's case to investigate further, and called us over to determine if the people they found were indeed the ones to abuse her. Upon Belladonna's confirmation, the Dursley family have been extradited from Australia and will be facing trial soon on our end."

Amelia took note of how both Lily and James' eyes went wide with fear at that revelation.

"Chief Markus did admit to there being a chance that the Dursleys may not face any repercussions for their actions however."

Sirius obviously did not like that.

Amelia gestured to the Aurors to administer the antidote, and promptly turned her attention to Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress. "Professor McGonagall, can you please give us some insight into the relationship between Lily Potter and her sister, and then tell us what you know in regards to Belladonna Potter's life?"

McGonagall gave her side of the story and what she knew. She spoke about how she'd gone to meet Lily's family in person and how her sister refused to be in the room. She recalled how Lily would rush to her office in tears because of the snide things her sister would say in her letters. How the sisters had never gotten on and that Petunia didn't even come to her wedding. The word 'freak' had been a favourite insult. How Petunia had once written to Albus for permission to attend the school and when she was refused, her attitude got even worse toward Lily.

She then moved on to what she had witnessed of the Potter Family in the last decade and how she never questioned their lies. How she'd received the returned letter on 31 July and was concerned by the address thereon. She even had the letter with her to present just in case. Belladonna Potter's writing was scrawled across the front with her refusal to attend Hogwarts.

Black once again took up everyone's attention as he enumerated the many times the Potters had lied about their eldest daughter's whereabouts. He'd even spent the past decade collecting every article where they mentioned her, and had all fifty-seven clippings saved in a folder that he passed into her hands if people didn't want to believe him. The dedication was astounding and very well thought out.

"It wasn't like we weren't going to check on her birthday!" said Lily suddenly. "If she had magic we would have brought her back and no one would know anything. We actually went and checked only to learn that Petunia had moved!"

The look of outrage on James' face told Amelia that they hadn't planned on revealing  _that_  bit of information and she got the distinct impression that there was trouble in paradise.

Needless to say, Black won because the odds were so stacked against the Potters and whatever argument they tried to use, made them look even worse. Their friends weren't even taking their side. The Dark families were glad to see the Potters fall, but it was the Light families turning on them that meant something. The whispers and rumours were already starting. Their lawyer looked beside himself. John was usually used to winning his cases so this was a first, and it cost them a lot.

Millions of Galleons first off. Black didn't need the money but he wanted to cause them problems which meant making a dent in their savings. And since neither James nor Lily worked, it would no doubt have a lasting effect on their savings. Black also promised to give everything to Belladonna because she deserved it for the whole ordeal affecting her more than anyone else.

Both James and Lily were sentenced to time in Azkaban that would no doubt be lowered if they shoved enough money around. That was obviously what Sirius wanted. To shorten even a year in Azkaban required ten million Galleons. They'd been sentenced to ten each. The gold was accepted as a promise of good behaviour. If their behaviour was clean they'd probably get out within the year. The same way a lot of other incredibly wealthy people escaped steep repercussions in prison.

Finally, they had to issue a statement for the entirety of the world, revealing their actions and the honest reasons for their actions.

Sirius Black wanted their reputations to suffer for what they'd done to his Heiress and he was getting what he wanted. But he also wanted their pockets to be emptied. So two hundred million Galleons was gone in one sentence, and another hundred million gone in another. Whatever was left over was all they'd have. They would certainly not even be in the top one hundred most wealthy families in Britain now. Singles digits to triple in the span of a minute.

By the time they made it out of prison, Amelia was certain the rest of their great wealth would be squandered by their youngest who had expensive tastes and was always seen with the newest of anything.

Custody of Prunella Potter fell to Sirius Black as well. Amelia had a feeling Sirius wouldn't prohibit her from spending whatever she wanted. As Heiress to the Potters, she had access to the family vault and no doubt she had permission to take what she wanted. Their collective greed would be the family's undoing.

A long time ago, she'd been told to never get on the bad side of a Black because they'd make hell rain down upon any who insulted them. She hadn't really seen any proof of that until now, and found herself admiring Sirius Black a little more. He'd put his everything into this and it had all paid off in the end.

Belladonna was smiling. Not a big smile, or even an overly cheerful one. She simply seemed pleased with the events that had just transpired. Meanwhile, Prunella had devolved to tears as her parents were lead away in magic-binding chains, both screaming at each other and trying to blame each other for what was happening.

Amelia knew though that this was not the end of the Potters. Some would still cling to their image of goodness and Lightness. Some would resist the truth even when the admitted to their greed.

But the damage was already done and nothing was going to mend it any time soon.

* * *

**Amara,**

**The other day, one of the boys in our year was flirting pretty terribly with**   
**Bella and she didn't notice at all. One of our friends revealed that the boy**   
**hadn't been very subtle about his interest in recent weeks but she never**   
**picked up on it. We're still unsure if it's genuine or if it's something he is**   
**doing because of her station. She is connected to a very wealthy family**   
**and I was warned that many would 'ask for her hand' because arranged**   
**marriages are a thing here!**

**According to Zabini, the boy'd been observing Pureblood customs at the**   
**start, but since Bella doesn't know enough about them, he got nowhere.**   
**So he resorted to flowers which ended up not working much either since**   
**she didn't find the gesture particularly amazing. She thinks flowers are a**   
**pointless sort of gift?**

**Bella still didn't get it when Blaise explained. Is she usually so dense? It's**   
**not like I knew immediately what the boy was up to but after a very tries**   
**it became clear to me as well.**

**On another note, I was thinking about what to do come summer and was**   
**wondering if you knew any films Bella is into? And what you like as well**   
**so I'll be prepared.**

**Hermione.**

* * *

Bella's time at Hogwarts just seemed to improve now that she knew her sperm and egg donors were behind bars for the time being. She was also pleased to learn that they would be near destitute by the time they got out because their daughter was a greedy brat. Multiple racing brooms when she literally only needed one. Did the Potters known nothing about the word Moderation?

She'd made it back in time for dinner that Wednesday, but had to stay awake despite the fact that she wanted to just go and collapse on her bed. Why? Because the Slytherins had Astronomy with the Ravenclaws on Wednesdays at midnight and that meant she had to stay up. Sometimes she wondered why Astronomy was even necessary since it benefited none of their classes.

The wait had been worth it she learned later, because she'd stopped by the loo on the way to the class, the boys waiting outside for her, and what she found within, made her entire day! More than the slow-going downfall of her annoying relatives both magical and non-magical. More than the fact that she was going to get to go home for Christmas.

There had been this odd fabric in a bunch on the floor. Just laying there. It was kind of hideous from what she could tell, but was really silky when she touched it. The texture was enough for her to give it a chance because something that soft  _had_  to be nice.

It was a cloak. A very old cloak judging by the near ancient make of it. Heavy-duty, and made her think of a 60s kitchen. And not in a good way.

Slipping it on was what made the day go from good to great! Her whole body disappeared. She couldn't see anything in the mirror! All that was left uncovered was her head, and it floated in place, looking baffled.

An Invisibility Cloak was incredibly rare according to Sirius. James Potter owned one that was passed down in the family for centuries. And would no doubt pass his along to his child. Meaning it was probably Prunella's, but… the cloak was supposed to go to the eldest child. That was the only specification. The eldest wasn't always the Heir either.

The manic grin that had spread across her face would have probably terrified anyone else, but she didn't care. An Invisibility Cloak could be dead useful some time in the future. She didn't know when but having it made her feel loads better.

Bella stuffed her new possession in her bag and left the bathroom, not caring that she hadn't actually done anything but try on a cloak. She could wait until after class.

Let Prunella worry over the location of the Cloak. It would teach her to take better care of her - now Bella's - things.

Neither Zabini or Nott said anything when they saw the look on her face and she didn't volunteer any information. It showed how fast they had come to understand her attitude. She really appreciated that fact as well, since it meant they respected her space.

* * *

The snow came in the night and there was nothing subtle about it. They'd all gone to sleep to green grass and leafy trees, only to awaken the following morning with a blanket of snow deep enough to reach Bella's knees, and the leaves from the trees swishing here and there.

From an aesthetic standpoint, Hogwarts was indeed beautiful. Bella made sure to ask Remus to get her a photograph so she could show Aaliyah later on. And then put it up on her room somewhere nice. Maybe her desk.

Anyway, the most interesting thing that happened was that the Gryffindor twins had done something to Quirrell where whenever he got near snow, it would clump together and assault him. So Quirrell was found avoiding windows and the outdoors in general. People had taken to bringing armfuls of snow inside though, so the curse would activate anyway.

Bella was only a little sad she couldn't join in. But while she didn't like him, she wasn't brave enough to hit a teacher with anything. And she wasn't certain she wouldn't get caught either.

On another note, the rink was becoming even more cramped due to the holiday. People liked to go skating more and more during winter and with that as an unfortunate fact, Bella had to spend more time navigating during practice than usual.

Sometimes they couldn't rent the whole rink, so Bella had to share. On those days though, she couldn't really practice her jumps because people who just move around in an oval don't usually pay much attention to what's going on around them and they tend to get in the way. And that can cause accidents.

It was always more stressful to practice during winter.

* * *

Christmas was upon them. Prue was in a terrible mood because she couldn't go home since her godfathers whom she hadn't actually seen in years, now held custody of her. And they were staying at the castle for Christmas, meaning she too had to stay at the castle.

This meant she couldn't get any of the presents her parents had gotten for her, and she'd have to deal with whatever was sent in from others.

She'd lost her Invisibility Cloak a week back and couldn't find it anywhere, and that was the only time it was good that her parents couldn't write because she could only imagine their attitudes if they learned she'd lost the Potter Family's most priceless possession. The one thousand year old Heirloom had disappeared to who knows where.

The lack of the Cloak didn't really bother her though since she was certain she wouldn't get into actual trouble. McGonagall taking away one hundred points for the Longbottom situation was laughable. As if Prue gave a damn about the point system. There was no actual reward in getting points, meaning the whole thing was pointless. She didn't get what everyone acted as if points were the most important thing in the world. It wasn't like they could keep the trophy once they won it. It would get passed around the next year. So really, why care at all?

If she got caught sneaking around, she wasn't worried. The worst they could do was give her detention and that was nothing. Ron's brothers were always in detention and they never complained about it. Obviously it mustn't be that terrible if they managed to not whinge about it every day. They wouldn't dare expel the Girl-Who-Lived either. Dumbledore held her in too high regard for that.

That was why on Christmas day, she spent her time with Ron. He hadn't left because his parents went to visit his brother Charlie at the dragon reserve in Romania. That left him and his older brothers at the castle. So to pass the time, they'd been looking for secret rooms and passages after opening their gifts and getting breakfast.

Prue even had to visit her godfather and his husband for a few minutes in order to wish them a Happy Christmas and to accept their card they'd gotten her. It was dull. It was obvious the card was from Lupin only since it only had one type of writing on it and both were signed by the same person.

She'd gotten a lot less gifts from her admirers that year. The result of the trial had been publicised by Skeeter, who shouldn't have even known anything about the trial since she wasn't the reporter allowed inside, and it left a lasting effect. People weren't happy with her parents and were taking their anger out on Prunella, who hadn't done any wrong. It wasn't her decision to just leave their child with someone they only ever complained about. Why was Prue being punished for their mistakes?

Maybe the time in prison would do them some good. It would keep them out of the public eye. Perhaps she could build her reputation back up without them around.

And it would get better with her first game with the Cannons come the new year when the official season began. Unlike at Hogwarts, official Quidditch started in January and ended in August. That was because the World Cup was always held in August every four years. So in order to get back into the people's good graces, she had to start winning. She had to make sure the Cannons won every game she played in, so people would associate her name with their victory.

Then, when she was fourteen, she could officially sign onto Wales' National Quidditch Team if her experience with the Cannons was good, and she built a good enough name for herself. And it would be foolish to refuse Prunella Potter for their team anyway, so she was certain she'd get the position.

Prunella would take matters into her own hands when it came to rebuilding the Potter Family. Besides, she kind of liked her way a bit more. And this way meant a lot less screaming with her parents not there to constantly yell at each other.

While not getting all the presents she wanted, her thoughts on the imprisonment of her parents turned more pleasant. She could still buy what she wanted and that was fine. More freedom without her mum ragging on her constantly and her dad ragging on her mum.

No more fighting.

* * *

Belladonna raced down the stairs that evening because it was a tradition in Aaliyah's family, to open gifts at night instead of in the morning. And Bella, who hadn't gotten a tonne of presents before being adopted, had accepted the tradition easily because she was just happy to get stuff at all. As long as it wasn't too expensive.

That morning, where Deborah had come over and had spent some time with them, they'd had done the unhealthy thing by eating a lot of chocolate. But it was Christmas and bad decisions were mostly excusable on Christmas. Boxing Day however would have them right back to being health nuts.

There had been hot cocoa and peppermint sticks, and Deborah brought over some crème caramel she'd made. It was actually snowing outside, but not too much. Not enough for a snowball fight. It wasn't like Hogwarts, where the snow seemed to fall all at once. One minute there was green, and the next there was a foot of snow covering everything and the Black Lake had frozen over, possibly enough to skate on at some point.

All day they'd watched some good films. Bella's mind supplied various ideas for a routine done to Singin' in the Rain and she was sad that the rink was closed. But it was a bloody holiday and of course it wouldn't be fair for Deborah to have to work just because Bella was impatient!

Another film of choice was Alien because she felt like watching Ripley kick all arse. Also she just really liked Sigourney Weaver because she got a lot of hell for not being super feminine, and caring more about her career than what people thought about her figure. Bella liked that.

Deborah left a little after dinner, and Aaliyah was smiling a lot more cheerfully since the two had reacquainted themselves romantically. Bella was a genius.

Finally, everything had come down to that moment. And there were a lot of gifts.

And gifts weren't the only things waiting in the lounge. Sirius and Remus were there as well.

"Happy Yule, kid!" said Sirius with a bright grin.

Remus was more quiet, but he did wish her a Happy Christmas.

"We can't stay for long because your sister is at Hogwarts getting into mischief, but we wanted to see you open your gift from us!"

Aaliyah, who was sitting on the brown sofa, was looking on with obvious interest as the two men placed a big box-shaped gift on her lap. A present covered in garish red and gold wrapping paper to represent the House they were sorted into years ago.

It was covered in magical glitter that would fade and glow every few seconds, making her not want to ruin it. It was too pretty.

"We can get you more if you like it that much," promised Remus with a small grin.

She tore through it instantly, revealing the gift to be what looked like a modern trunk. It was black, and had her initials on it, but in silver.

"That is magical," Remus said. "By the handle is a small button. Push it once for Muggle and twice for Magical. It's basically a full-sized flat inside, complete with kitchen, loo, lounge, and a bedroom. If it is ever inspected by a non-magical individual, all you have to do it push the button once, and the inside automatically pulls up the most average storage space you'd expect. The button vanishes if you set it to Muggle and will only re-appear when it is closed again."

Awesome. She could make good use of that. Once it came to international competitions, this very gift would end up benefiting she and Aaliyah a lot.

"Thanks! This is going to help a lot."

Both men patted her shoulders. In return, she handed them the bags she'd gotten them. Both were basically full of Muggle prank supplies, but she figured they'd be amused since neither really ventured into the Muggle world all that much. Just simple things like sleight of hand tricks and the like.

The gifts were appreciated and as they left, Sirius was talking very loudly about learning how to draw a coin from an ear without using actual magic.

After that, Bella opened the rest of her gifts, which included a set of magical fairytales from Blaise whose card merely wished her a good Yule.

Theo sent her a series of books on the Pureblood Aristocracy and how to deal with certain situations she didn't understand yet. He wished her a happy Yule as well.

Hermione sent her a big box of Chocolate Frogs and excitedly told her about the fact that her family had decided to go to the Alps for the hols.

Neville sent her an Ever Rose. Apparently, they were the inspiration for the very famous tale of Beauty and the Beast. An Ever Rose never wilted according to Neville. He even suggested that she read the original tale involving the beauty, beast, and flower so she'd understand it better. And luckily, Blaise had supplied her with the tale in question. How serendipitous.

A gift came from someone she hadn't expected. Malfoy. They were not friends of any sort, so she didn't understand why he would bother to spend time thinking of her at all. But he did. And it was… at least of good quality.

It was a black book with gold decorations at the corners. And embossed on the back in gold, were the words Tom Marvolo Riddle.

The pages were blank which meant it was most likely a re-gift situation, but she didn't really mind. It was leather and smelled good. She'd take it! It could be a journal of sorts. Maybe she'd get her  _own_  name embossed on the back.

She'd been surprised by the gifts she'd received from the boys. After listening to her dormmates talk about what they expected to receive for a holiday they didn't necessarily celebrate but took on the tradition of getting free stuff on said day, all of them wanted jewelry. It was apparently an expected gift among Pureblood circles.

Bella must have given the impression that she didn't care for such things and was honestly so thankful for that. She didn't wear jewelry. Mostly because it might go flying off at some point and could be hazardous when on the ice. And while some could get away with stud earrings or a small necklace, she wasn't about tempting fate. Also it was best to not get used to wearing jewelry just so she wouldn't forget in competition **[1]**.

The rest of her gifts came from Aaliyah and a few fans who'd sent things to her P.O. box.

Clothes, stuffed animals, and chocolate. Plus a tonne of cards that had gift vouchers inside them. Some even got Aoife a few toys to play with, which the feline appreciated very much if the way she was tearing into the one squeaky ball was anything to go by.

By the end of the night, Bella had vlogged to show what she'd gotten and to wish others a Happy Christmas. She then posted the unedited video before heading to sleep.

It had been a good day.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Bella _is_  that dense. Do not let her try to convince you otherwise. She**   
**is very forgetful too so she needs to be strictly managed so she does**   
**not ruin her schedule. I'm surprised she'd managed to maintain that**   
**diet while away from home.**

**We are partial to horror and suspense thrillers. It's nice to be scared**   
**in a controlled environment. And now that she's aware that magical**   
**creatures actually exist, she'll probably be even more drawn to those**   
**kinds of films. What kind of films do you like to watch and would you**   
**have any suggestions?**

**Have you ever been to a theme park? They're really fun and my mum**   
**and dad have been thinking of going this summer for Bella's birthday.**   
**Don't tell her though. They haven't ironed out the details. And if your**   
**parents say you can, then you'll come too and I can show you all my**   
**favourite things to do.**

**Looking forward to hearing from you.**   
**Amara.**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> ****
> 
> **[1]** Skaters generally get deducted points if they are wearing jewelry. Some  
>  do it anyway, but they really can't afford to lose the points. Men will get hit  
> harder though because jewelry is 'girly'. Despite what some would claim,  
> there is sexism and homophobia entrenched in figure skating.
> 
> Only in the new century are ladies allowed to wear unitards. They'd been  
> considered too masculine before. Men can't have long hair or wear 'tights'  
> like the ladies wear. Violations of such were considered to be against  
> 'family friendly' values. And those blatantly challenging gender roles were  
> penalized for it. Basically, if you appear as anything other than straight,  
> you'll be unfairly treated. Take Johnny Weir as an example.

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella's new book is a little special. Shit happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -We get some insight into other things going on. And I feel like  
> you should all be paying close attention to everyone and what  
> they act and think like.
> 
> -I have read the books mentioned in this chapter. I liked them  
> from what I can recall of them.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

It had been silent for years. So many years had passed in the silence that Tom wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed while he was stuck inside the Diary. If he had known it would be like this, alone and without an ounce of entertainment, he wouldn't have jumped so readily into the Horcrux ritual. He probably would have found another path to immortality.

Nothing in the book had said anything about the soul piece itself. He wasn't shocked since how would anyone be able to get the soul piece's account of the situation to begin with? Also, Horcruxes weren't a common method of immortality used in magical history and there were only a few accounts of them being made.

But everything had changed because he could feel a familiar presence near the Diary. He could feel it manhandling his vessel and moving it around. He'd go so far as to say it was his original self… but it felt more faint than the original which hadn't been felt in such a long time. Such a very long time.

And just as his curiosity was ready to burst… the words appeared.

Being perpetually stuck at a table with a single book in front of him for decades, wasn't fun. But it was either that, or reliving all of his memories from birth until the time the Horcrux was created. And since that option wasn't favourable, he'd simply sat at the table and recounted his magical skills over and over or re-read books he'd memorised.

But instead of his own writing appearing in the manifestation of the Diary… another's writing appeared.

**I've never had a journal before. I'm not the best at keeping up with things**   
**and I have a habit of leaving things unfinished. But this could be more of a**   
**way to keep track of my goals rather than recounting my days. I don't think**   
**I have enough patience for that anyway. And sometimes I can't find what I**   
**want to say so there'd no doubt be an arse load of empty pages or at least**   
**some blanks between entries.**

There was something adolescent in the words before him. Not too young, but certainly nowhere close to his age. But the biggest question was whether the child who got a hold of him was muggle or magical. And the second biggest question was how the bloody hell did a child even get a hold of him in the first place? From what he'd been told, he wasn't placed in the protection of a child or someone  _with_  a child.

**To Begin:**

**Goal 1:**  Join the Junior Division.

**Requirement:**  Be 13 before 1 July before the upcoming season to qualify.

**Goal 2:**  Join Senior Division.

**Requirement:**  Be 15 before 1 July before the upcoming season to qualify.

**Goal 3:**  Work on Speed.

**Requirements:**  Repetitions both on the ice and off. Squats. Lunges. Suicides.  
Dance. Building up my thigh strength to keep up with the physical demands of  
the sport. Improve my breathing so I don't lose my breath so easily during my  
routines.

**Goal 4:**  Work on Core Muscles.

**Requirements:**  Sit ups. Yoga. Dance. Improve overall balance and discipline.

**Goal 5:**  Manage a Triple Axel.

**Requirements:**  Familiarity with the extra rotation necessary for it to count.  
Not grow too much so I will not have to adjust my training too much. Keep  
practicing no matter what. Don't stop once I reach the 3A. Keep trying for a  
Quad if at all possible.

**Goal 6:**  Ratify a Quad Jump for the Ladies. Any jump that a Ladies skater has  
yet to land. Preferably the Toe Loop or Loop. Or both. Both is good.

**Requirement:**  Practice nonstop. Don't give up or give in.

**Goal 7:**  Improve Step Sequences.

**Requirements:**  Dance. Work on footwork on and off the ice. Draw inspiration  
from other sources. Research. Practice often. Improved speed will be a bonus  
on this goal. Make sure ankles and feet are especially capable of movements.

**Goal 8:**  Improve Choreography.

**Requirements:**  Expanding my knowledge of other dance styles. Take any and  
all criticism I get with grace. Improve what people say needs work. Take risks.  
Don't be scared to try new things.

**Goal 9:**  Learn how to Hydroblade.

**Requirements:**  Reaching Goal 4.

**Goal 10:**  Learn the Cantilever.

**Requirements:**  Reaching Goal 4. Figuring out a good way to transition in and  
out of the move and how to possibly pair that with a jump either before or after  
it. More points that way for difficult execution and a smooth transition.

It was all about a sport. Tom had never found an interest in sports and couldn't believe that he was being punished this way. Was he to be forever taunted by the inanities behind whatever the young girl was talking about? His first contact with another person in some odd years was sullied by sports. Sports and physical training!

What was the appeal? What was it about sports that made people so stupid? Why couldn't they take interest in a good book?

**Is this a prank book? Did I just waste ink for nothing?**

She was going to leave! She couldn't leave! Not after him being alone for so long! One child was at least better than an eternity of sitting at the desk and hating his existence. Tom grabbed the nearby quill and put it to the parchment. He had to be interesting so she'd stay! He had to make her want to continue talking to him so he could get educated.

_Please don't toss me, I do have feelings and don't want to be thrown in the_   
_rubbish bin._

There was a moment where he grew concerned that the child had already closed the Diary and hadn't seen his response, but then...

**You can talk? Are you like the Sorting Hat? Do you have a mind of your**   
**own?**

She was magical and lived in Britain! Thank Merlin, Circe, and Hecate all at once! That just made everything more worth it. The universe had afforded him some kind of reward for all this patience! Maybe a bit of mercy too after years of unending punishment for his actions.

_Not exactly like the Sorting Hat. It was once solely within the ownership of_   
_Godric Gryffindor. His portrait shows so. It was upon Rowena's suggestion_   
_that the Founders enchanted it to sort the students by character. However,_   
_after several centuries of it being imbued with so much magic, it has gained_   
_a sentience of its own, much like the castle has._

Tom always did enjoy lecturing others and teaching what he knew. Any chance to do that would never be passed up. It not only made him feel smarter, but it just felt good to instruct someone who was genuinely interested in what he had to say.

And it was always better when the person he was speaking to was actually listening too. Too often had Tom tried to educate his Housemantes only to find them busy with their hair or some such tripe.

_I however am an actual person trapped in a book. And don't go feeling sorry_   
_for me, this was my doing. I was supposed to help other witches and wizards_   
_should they ever need of me but I didn't account for the fact that it is lonely_   
_as a book. I have no one but myself to blame for my current situation._

It was half a lie and half of the truth. In a way he was owning up to his ' _mistake_ ' in order to make his story more believable. It also made him appear more mature to the child if he could take responsibility for his actions. He also hadn't expected it to be so boring. But the whole ' _helping_ ' others line was a complete falsity. Tom didn't go out of his way to help anyone unless there was some way he'd benefit from doing so.

And since the child had information that he wanted, pretending to help would actually benefit him in the end. He had questions and she would provide the answers eventually. It all would work out.

**Damn. That's gotta suck. Is your name Tom Marvolo Riddle?**

_Yes._

**Good. That's the name on the book. I'm curious as to why the Malfoy Heir**   
**would try to foist you off onto me for a Christmas gift. If you are meant to**   
**help magicals, does he think I need some kind of assistance all because I**   
**didn't find out about magic until this July? Or is this something else?**

He had many questions. But judging from what she'd told him thus far, he could put many things together quickly.

She was a muggleborn who still didn't know much about the magical world. And she was most likely eleven if she'd only found out about magic that year and it was already Yule. And she was close enough to the Malfoy Heir to receive a gift from him, meaning she was either a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. Those two Houses tended to mingle the most since Slytherins hated Gryffindors and didn't like dealing with Hufflepuffs, of Course it was Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

Even if she was a muggleborn she'd be a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin one, which automatically made her more tolerable in the Slytherin's eyes, though not by much.

_Malfoys always tend to have a reason behind whatever they do. He is either trying_   
_to hide something, trying to get on your good side, or doesn't want his fellows to_   
_know that he didn't follow the proper Pureblood tradition. Maybe all of them. It's_   
_been a long time since I have talked to anyone, so I do not know who the Malfoy_   
_Heir is. Apologies._

If the boy was the same age as the child currently holding him, then Tom doubted he would know what the Diary truly was. And Tom had been left in the hands of Lucius Malfoy, son of Abraxas, or so his other self had explained before abandoning him. Obviously he'd have a child. It should have come to him before. He'd been too excited at the prospect of not being alone for another undetermined amount of time to consider things more clearly.

Though the last date he'd been told of was in 1995 so fifty years in a book with minimal contact from his other self over the years, had made him a bit frantic.

**It's fine. It's not like you're required to know every little thing.**

**You know, I can believe that. About Malfoy I mean. We did not get on well**   
**on the train to Hogwarts because my godfather is basically the only thing**   
**that can annul his parents' marriage and he doesn't want to get on my bad**   
**side lest Sirius do what he did to Malfoy's aunt. He also seems like a bit of a**   
**kiss up. I could just ask him later on if I can get him alone somehow.**

More information. Not a lot of course, but enough to paint an even broader landscape for him.

Sirius was a common name for the Black Family. Meaning she had ties to the Blacks. And if one was a her godfather, it was probably safe to say she wasn't a muggleborn then. Her situation confused him a bit, but not enough to think on it further because something else had stuck out to him.

It was the fact that this Sirius Black was the Lord of the Malfoy Heir's mother's maiden House and he was ready and willing to annul his family member's marriage easily. But why? Malfoys and Blacks inter-married all the time. What had happened to pit them against each other?

How much had changed while Tom was stuck in the blasted book?

_Malfoys are always very interested in keeping themselves safe and will bend their_   
_necks if they deem it necessary. Perhaps the boy sees you as a threat and wishes_   
_to keep you at a distance?_

One thing about Malfoys was their flexible pride. A Malfoy was never too proud to kneel if they thought it would save them pain. Tom knew this on a personal level. Abraxas was always very quick to quiver and change his tune the moment he thought Tom was angry with him. It was disgusting if truth be told.

Nowhere did he possess a backbone. While the Gryffindor form of bravery was indeed annoying, there was nothing respectable about cowardice. And to think, Malfoys liked to brag that they never bowed to anyone. Tom had proven that wrong very quickly!

**I don't know. We're eleven. I can't do much to him currently. I know some**   
**basic things but in general, he is better in class than I am. Of course that is**   
**across the board. I am best at Defense, Potions, and Transfiguration. The**   
**rest of the classes are a bit of a struggle. So it's more precise to say that he**   
**has a more consistent output of decent work, whereas I such at anything**   
**not related to what I like the most.**

That was very… interesting.

Did the boy really care about his family so much that he was scared of angering a girl he didn't really know for fear of her telling her godfather to annul his parents' marriage? Tom couldn't see why it was such a big deal. Sure, the social backlash wouldn't be good but the woman could simply oust herself from the Blacks and stay with her husband if she wanted.

Of course that would still have them in boiling water on the political side, but it wouldn't be the first time the Malfoy Family had dealt with some unpleasant situation in regards to their line.

Of course Tom didn't  _understand_  the meaning of family since he never had one of his own, so he couldn't really relate to the desire to protect something he'd never had before.

_Maybe he's trying to appease you so you won't ruin his family's standing in society._

**Yeah, that's probably it. I'll just ask him and hope he doesn't wet himself**   
**from fear.**

_May I ask for your name since you already know mine?_

**Belladonna Pandora Potter Michaels.**

She was definitely at the very least a Halfblood. Like Tom was. Potter was a Pureblood Family among the magical society of Britain. And he would never think to name a child after a plant, but it was a deadly poison so that made sense at least. And if her godfather was a Black, then Pandora made sense. Michaels wasn't a wizarding name however.

He didn't care about her blood status as it meant nothing to him in the long run so long as she had information for him. Information was the most important things at present. He could worry about things like societal traditions and oppression later.

**Are all of my notes just going to vanish into your pages? I don't want to**   
**waste any more ink if I don't have to. I can use a pencil if need be.**

_Yes. Apologies. I wasn't meant to fulfill that sort of purpose. I'm just supposed_   
_to share my knowledge and in the meantime, hope I don't get bored._

**I know all about boredom, trust me. I suppose I can keep talking to you**   
**if you can help me any time I'm lost. I have got a lot of stuff on my plate**   
**right now because my schedule is split between the magical and muggle**   
**worlds and I do a lot of travelling back and forth for my career. With all**   
**this extra stress, maybe you could impart some wisdom in regards to a**   
**few subjects that I royally suck at. In return, I'll entertain you so there**   
**will be no more suffering.**

Tom smirked to himself. He'd gotten her!

It's been so long since he'd had something else to do! Soon he'd escape and go about reacquainting himself with his other self.

_I'll try my best to help you._

* * *

Prunella huffed as she and Ron sat by the fire in the Common Room. This had to be the least fun Christmas holiday she had ever had.

Thankfully, Ron's parents weren't doing what everyone else was doing. Mrs. Weasley had still sent her an ugly jumper that she had immediately put on because why not? She also sent Prue some baked treats and a card telling her to hold her chin up and don't let people get to her.  _That_  was a card that actually meant something unlike that ridiculous thing Black and Lupin tried to pass off as caring.

They never bothered to show that they cared before and she wondered how they could possibly think that she was just accept their new custody of her as a thing. That she'd be all smiles with two strange men in her life.

And yet even with Mrs. Weasley's kindness still in place, Prue was capable of seeing the disappointment lacing the woman's words.

Prue  _could_  have said something about her parents leaving her sister. But she didn't really care. It wasn't her job to do  _their_  job. If they made stupid decisions and got caught, then they deserved to reap what they had sown. But in doing so, they had brought Prue down with them.

And the only way she'd gain back any of her popularity was when she led the Cannons to victory in their first game of the season come January. It had to be spectacular and attention-grabbing in order for the plan to work.

She didn't need her parents around all the time in order to do things for herself. Especially not when she'd already gotten the basics of the plan from James and knew what to do on her own. Besides, it wasn't as if her parents were very useful when they were actually around anyway. Too busy shouting at each other and looking ready to hit each other to do anything else.

All it was now was patience and training and a continuous front of innocence that would surely fool most people. People really couldn't blame a child for the multiple faults of the parents, could they?

It wouldn't be right and so many people liked to brag about how good and just they were. Hypocrisy wasn't cute or so Lily had told her. Funny, seeing as how hypocrisy was what landed her in prison to begin with.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**My parents have taken an interest in my desire to breed Kneazles and have gotten**   
**me my own Kneazle so that I may familiarise myself with their temperaments and**   
**how to handle them. He is big, like Bella's Aoife, but more maroon in colouring and**   
**he has weird-shaped black rings spotting his fur. Also, he seems to like Aoife since**   
**all he did was follow her around when we visited Bella's house.**

**I have decided to name him Sauron just because. I like Tolkien, I did re-read LotR**   
**recently, and I just thought to myself, 'he's a Sauron' but without being a twat. I**   
**once had a hamster named Bilbo, so it works.**

**I recently got my hands on a new book called, 'White Teeth', by Zadie Smith and I**   
**think you should check it out. I already finished it and even got Bella to start on it**   
**so we'd all be on the same page. It'll take her a bit longer because that's the nature**   
**of her issue with books, but she's interested in the topics therein and wants to give**   
**it a go.**

**I recently learned that my parents aren't expecting me to get married young. I'd**   
**been a little worried since my mum is from India but she told me that marriage too**   
**young could be detrimental to creativity and individuality. She was twenty-seven**   
**when she and father got married and she said that her own mother would have**   
**fainted at the very thought and that was why she waited. An additional snub to the**   
**beliefs of the woman who abandoned her for not having magic. This is great for me.**

**Do your parents have expectations for you in regards to relationships? I know that**   
**Aaliyah doesn't mind what Bella does so long as she's 16 and is safe when she does**   
**it. Not all parents/guardians are the same though. Bella told me her godfathers had**   
**a bit more of a tighter expectation in regards to romance because of some weird**   
**things involved with their magic. She's going to be told when she starts her cycle**   
**and in turn that means I'm going to be told right after because Bella wouldn't last**   
**when trying to keep things from me.**

**Apparently magical periods are a bit different? Is that true?**

**I hope you're having fun on your holiday.**

**Looking forward to your answers.**   
**Amara.**

* * *

"Come on, mate. It's not like we can get into really  _big_  trouble. The most they could do is give us detention together and that's usually just cleaning stuff or writing lines."

Prue was really not the kind of person who wanted to explore things so she didn't often break rules. And she didn't really want to go out or do anything. But it was mostly because she didn't have her Invisibility Cloak this time. It was very different when you didn't have a sure method of escape. Nothing could see through the Cloak or so she was aware. And nothing could summon the Cloak once it was firmly covering her shoulders. So not having it was actually troublesome and made her more hesitant to leave the tower without it.

"We got your dad's advanced version of the Marauder's Map. Everything will be fine and we can just hide if we see anyone."

Well…

"Fine. But if something bad happens, it's your fault."

Ron gave a cheer and leapt to his feet, face flushed bright red. "I've been dying to see what's hiding in the third floor corridor. Ever since that warning it's been killing me! There's no other way to get you to check it out with me so we'll do it tonight so I can put my mind at ease."

The two children grabbed their cloaks, plus Prue's loaned map, and sneaked out through the statue beside the fireplace. This entrance had been shown to them by the twins, who often used it in order to avoid waking the Fat Lady and possibly getting busted by her as well. She only held loyalty to the Headmaster after all. And if asked, she would nark without hesitation.

After coming out in the middle of the fifth floor corridor, Prue pulled out the Marauder's Map and began to search the surrounding area for anyone who could spot them. When she deemed the coast clear, they slinked along the shadows and down the stairs toward the third floor and the forbidden corridor that had never been forbidden before that year strangely enough.

Thank Merlin James and his friends had made the map. Even without the Cloak, they still had the upper hand in this situation. And there were hiding spaces all over the castle. And secrets passageways and rooms if necessary. All marked in red on the map just in case. The Marauders had apparently found more hideaways than anyone else ever had. Of course that also meant Black and Lupin would know them, but they wouldn't be able to check every place at once and by the time they'd get near the duo, Prue and Ron would be long gone.

When they finally came upon the forbidden corridor in question, they found only one door at the very end. It was of average size and seemed incredibly boring in appearance. And not something hiding a secret. But maybe that was the point. The Gryffindors shared a look, before approaching with caution. Ron shoved in front of her at the last second, chin tilting upward. "I got this. You know, just in case."

Her eye roll was halted when her vision caught sight of the thing sleeping behind the now open door. There was a reason there was only one room on the right-hand side of the third floor corridor. And that was because there was a large arse Cerberus sleeping inside.

"Why is it in the school?" Ron asked rhetorically, his voice ascending at least two octaves within two seconds. "What bloody maniac keeps something like that in a school where it could probably knock down the walls if it wanted?"

Prue had chosen to believe that his high-pitched voice was what awoke the creature and made all three heads focus on the first years. Massive fangs were bared and drool slipped to the floor, landing on top of a small, brown door with a latch at the dog's paws.

The door was promptly slammed shut and the kids backed away in terror, hearts no doubt pounding in sync and almost drowning out the barking of the creature.

"I think we should head back," Prue suggested. "The barking coming from behind the door isn't quiet and we could get caught." There was Filch and his cat, plus however many Prefects that roamed around at night. And sometimes even professors would be out making rounds.

Ron gulped, but shuffled closer to her while she checked the map. And she had been right to, because she could see the feet of Filch and Mrs. Norris coming their way! And fast. For old codger he could really haul arse when he wanted to.

"Follow me," she hissed as quietly as possible.

The two did some more super slinking, avoiding confronting the Squib and his pet by using a trick wall. And then climbing under a bookcase that was blocking a large hole in the wall. And that hole lead to a spiral staircase that they followed down, since it was the only way to go.

For the second time, they crawled beneath a bookcase, and found themselves on the dungeons. It was cold and the walls were much darker in colour than before. They just had to get to the fifth floor to make it back to the secret way into the Common Room.

Ron gasped and pointed at the map. "Snape's coming!"

With a wild look around, Prue grabbed his hand and shoved through the nearest door, closing it behind them quickly.

She waited, watching as the feet of Snape strode by and then around the far corner and out of sight. That was a relief. Snape very obviously didn't like her and he would no doubt do anything just to see her get into trouble. He was just that kind of bastard after all. She didn't get what his issue was exactly, but she certainly didn't want to deal with him more than strictly necessary.

"We can go," she announced, reaching for the door handle. "Quickly please."

When no reply came, she whirled around to find Ron staring at his own reflection in a large mirror. A mirror with ornate, gold carvings and details, and odd words embedded at the top.

**Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**

Ron's entire gaze was fixated on himself and he hadn't looked away when she touched his shoulder. She shoved him a little harder, but his eyes refused to leave whatever he found so fascinating about his own reflection. And finally, Prue decided to hit him with a  ** _Flipendo_  **just to get his attention.

Of course in the end it had him on his back, but it wasn't too bad. It could have been a lot worse.

"Wanna explain what the bloody hell that was?" she asked, gesturing to the mirror.

He was blinking, looking confused. "I… I thought- I mean I  _wanted_  it to be real."

"It's just a mirror."

"It showed me as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. Dumbledore was handing me the House Cup and my parents were proud of me, and the Minister was there," the ginger admitted, eyes downcast.

None of those things sounded interesting in the least. Fudge was boring as all hell and was a twitchy liar who liked to pretend that nothing was wrong in the government - so he didn't have to do his job - and liked gifting himself Order of Merlins despite never doing anything worthy of them. Little school titles weren't going to get anyone far in real life. Most people didn't care about things like that and didn't find them important. She could never understand Ron's desire for all these ridiculous titles that meant nothing. They had about the same effect as House points. All temporary.

Just because a lot of his family held them at some point, didn't mean he needed to as well. But then again, he was poor and she didn't really know what it was like to want something you couldn't have since James had always bought her whatever she'd wanted. So she really didn't have any room to talk, did she? And also Mrs. Wealsey was a bit of a nag and probably hounded him to be like his siblings all the time. She was the greatest woman Prue knew, but Prue had seen her go in on the twins for not being like Percy. As if  _anyone_  should be like Percy who was stuffy and boring. But she'd gone in on Percy for not being more like Bill or Charlie. Bill and Charlie weren't enough like Mr. Weasley because their professions weren't proper.

Ginny complained enough about being compared to her Aunt Muriel so of course Ron was getting similar treatment too. The twins got it worst of all because their dreams didn't make sense to Mrs. Weasley, and that was an unfortunate fact.

But it was just so strange to her to want a reward you wouldn't even be allowed to keep! It would get passed to different hands within the next twelve months. What was the appeal?

"We should get out of here before we get into trouble," she suggested. Not because she was scared of getting in trouble, but because she didn't want to linger more than was necessary. Especially if it had her best mate staring at mirrors for several minutes like some bloody space slice.

"Did you not see anything in the mirror?" asked Ron, eyes downcast.

Prue took a second to look back at the mirror, and found nothing out of the ordinary. Just herself with her red hair, green eyes, and glasses and James and Lily on either side of her just smiling softly. Their arms were around each other and both had a hand on her shoulder. The usual that she found whenever looking in a reflective surface if she didn't count her parents joining her for whatever reason that didn't present itself. "No," said Prue honestly.

It was just her own reflection. Nothing special about it. She had hair. She had eyes. She had freckled skin. Whoopie doo.

Prue didn't realise until later on that she'd never seen James and Lily look calm and happy before. Neither could she recall the last time they'd willingly touched one another, and wondered why they never did and why they never smiled like they had in the mirror. Instead it was always fighting and never a moment of peace in the Potter household.

* * *

"France was so nice, as usual!" Hermione sighed as they situated their things in the compartment of choice. "I tried snowboarding and while I was atrocious at it, it was still fun. And Bella, you'll be interested to know that there was a rink and I did a little skating of my own."

"And how did you do while skating?"

The girl flushed as she remembered how it went. "Well enough. My ankles are a bit weak for the skates, but I was able to move without holding onto the barrier or using a chair."

Bella grinned and looked to Zabini and Nott. "Have either of you ever gone ice skating before?"

Both nodded. Zabini chose to answer aloud though. "We have special shoes though which aren't like yours. Ours are made with magic ice that isn't cold and stays sharp no matter what. But none of us ever thought to try jumping around on them or doing weird moves. It's more just push and glide and it's kind of boring, no offense."

Nott was nodding along. "Gets old after a while. Besides, you never know if the person who made the shoes themselves, did well enough so trusting the ice blades to not break under you, takes a lot of trust that most of us don't have."

Hermione's interest was caught immediately though as ideas began to form. "So magicals ice skate too, but instead of metal for the blade they use ice?"

"Not  _just_  the blade," said Zabini. "The entire shoe is ice, but it's a magical kind that isn't cold nor hot. They change shape as your feet grow, which is why they are expensive and not many can afford them to even go ice skating to begin with. The Runes and Transfiguration involved cost a pretty Galleon or a thousand."

Well there went those ideas. One thousand Galleons for skates. Good Lord.

"Christ!" Bella hissed. "That's like worth ten times a pair of  _my_  skates. And I have to get some super high grade ones because of my chosen profession."

Yes. Bella's skates were several hundred quid. But that was because she needed quality.

"Hey Neville, what did you get up to?"

The boy flushed to the tips of his ears. "Um... avoided a family dinner as much as I could and then hid in the greenhouse for as long as I was allowed to. I prefer the plants to them any day. Uncle Algie had spelled apples to follow me and hit me. He said I should be able to stop them with my magic and prove myself a worth Heir to the family. I didn't manage to stop any of them unfortunately."

Neville's home life sounded horrid. "You can't do magic outside of Hogwarts," Hermione pointed out.

"He wanted wandless magic."

How horrible! Neville was eleven and untrained! How could anyone expect such advanced magic from a child?

Bella thankfully decided to change the awkward subject by saying, "Well  _I_  have some things for all of you to make up for the gifts! I didn't realise we were getting each other stuff so... sorry for being late."

And the next few hours were spent with all of them becoming intimately familiar with the gifts that Bella had purchased for them. Hermione loved her own copy of 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith and had finished it by the time they reached Hogwarts.

* * *

It was a lot easier to get Malfoy alone than Bella thought it would be. And it only managed to happen because Crabbe and Goyle were still eating in the Great Hall for the return feast and the boy had been a lot more subdued recently, which made him pay less attention to his surroundings. It was obvious since he didn't realise he was breaking one of B-Man's rules by being alone.

"Hey Malfoy, what's with the Christmas gift?" she asked the moment she caught up to him in the corridor. "I don't see you as the kind of person to give books as gifts, you know."

The blond jumped, flushed, and looked away. "I know it wasn't jewelry like I got Daphne, Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey bu-"

"I don't care for jewelry anyway, so that doesn't matter. I just don't get why you sent me a gift at all really. We're not exactly friends or friendly and wasting money on someone you don't get on with seems stupid."

"Honestly, I wasn't going to give you anything," the boy confessed, looking around to make sure they were alone and pitching his voice down more. "I'd been outside on my broom for hours. Came in for dinner and that was when my father asked me if I remembered to get you a gift as well. See, he told me to be nice to you ever since I told him about your advice on the train, and he wants us to remain on your good side so your godfather doesn't interfere with my parents' marriage and besmirch the Malfoy House.

"So when he asked about the gift I sent you, I panicked because I  _didn't_  get you one but I didn't want him to know that otherwise he'd yell at me or worse, so I lied and said I got you a book on the Sacred Twenty-Eight to help you understand our society better, and then went to our Library, grabbed a book off a shelf that ended up being empty, and had the Elves wrap it and send it out for me. I figured you could takes notes in it or something and he wouldn't miss it because obviously it wasn't important to him if there was nothing in it. And you know, you're not like Pansy so I thought you'd at least be okay with a book of good quality. It's real leather you know."

His mildly panicked revelation had her cackling because it was just that funny.

"There is nothing humourous about this! If he found out I forgot about you it would have been another lecture on properly observing Pureblood traditions and I'm so sick of those! And probably a few Stinging Hexes for jeopardising our family, and my backside is done with those too!"

So Malfoy didn't know about Tom. That was interesting, though she didn't feel like correcting his assumption that the book was empty. Just let him continue to think that and they'd both go on their separate ways. Also, if his father found out what he did, she wasn't going to help him implicate himself any further. That wouldn't be nice.

"Well I liked it just fine. And am indeed putting it to good use, so thanks."

Malfoy waited a few seconds before asking, "So you  _won't_  tell my father that I didn't get you a proper gift?"

"No. I don't even know what would be considered a proper gift, but seeing as I don't wear jewelry to begin with, I wouldn't want any."

The boy's shoulders sagged. "Thank Merlin. I was so worried that your godfather was going to be angry with us."

"I didn't even tell him. I like Sirius but he isn't privy to  _every_  bit of information about my life and experiences. You can stop worrying so much. Just don't be a dick we won't have problems."

"That's a relief for my backside."

* * *

"Can I get your autograph?"

Bella blinked in shock, having not expected that question to come at her from a fourth year Gryffindor. In fact, she wouldn't expect any Gryffindors to approach her considering she was a Slytherin. And with how Blaise and Theodore had stiffened, they were of the same mindset and were very distrustful of the person before them.

Still, Bella eyed the girl with interest. She was brunette with super floppy curls, icy blue eyes, and a slightly pudgy face. She was covered in freckles and looked to be full of boundless energy.

"I've been subscribed to your YouTube channel for the past two years and when you uploaded a video this summer of your pet Kneazle, I was so excited because I have one too. Why else would you have a Kneazle if you weren't a witch? And that meant you'd be coming to Hogwarts eventually! And I can totally see how you ended up in Slytherin if you decided at age six to make skating your career!"

So she was a muggle-raised student, which was why she held a different opinion on Bella compared to most of the Gryffindors who were wary because of the House she was sorted into. But she knew of Bella before she'd been introduced to magic, so of course she would have a different opinion.

"I'm Emmalinda Pareq by the way."

Emmalinda rummaged through her bag and pulled out a file. From it she withdrew a photo of Bella that looked more like a poster. Though since she was certain she never posed for anything like that, she had to wonder how it was made.

"I'm good at photoshop," Emmalinda admitted, a blush staining her cheeks. "I wanted a poster of you but there aren't any official ones as of yet, so I just took a photo of you from a competition, and then went in and edited it. It's not the first I've done but it is one of the best ones I have so far. When I can better with the program I can do more later."

Wow. Talk about dedication.

There were no posters of Bella so she made some of her own. And she did a really good job considering the detail.

It was just Bella in a simple, black and red costume. No decorations or designs. She was in the middle of a Y Spiral with her right hand outstretched. Her black hair had been done up in a tight bun. There was only a light gloss on her lips and a smidge of eye liner. For additions, Emmalinda had added sparkles and a rainbow glare across whole photo. And it was a pretty decent manipulation considering she had to have captured the spiral mid-motion. And it wasn't blurry.

Impressive.

And the boys on either side of her were gaping at the photo as well. They hadn't had an example yet of what figure skating truly was and to see their friend in her natural element had to be a shocker.

"Do you have a marker with you?"

"Red, black, or purple?" was Emmalinda's response.

"Purple." It was her favourite colour after all.

"I thought you'd say that!"

Seconds later, Emmalinda was rolling up her homemade poster and beaming. "Thank you so much!"

The three Slytherins watched as she skipped away, each in a varying state of awe.

"That was interesting," Theodore surmised. "Is this going to happen a lot with you?"

"As my skills increase, the attention I receive will as well. So it's only natural to assume I'll obtain more fans eventually."

* * *

On this day of training, Bella had been especially dedicated to whatever it was that she had in mind. Aaliyah could tell immediately that she'd been too focused on something else to truly pay attention to her advice, so she told her to give whatever she wanted to do, a go.

It started off as a spread eagle **[1]** with feet apart but the heels face each other while the toes faced outward and as far from each other as possible. A common position that she'd finally mastered thanks to how limber she was. She even had impeccable balance if Aaliyah was being honest. And her control on the blades had improved greatly over the past year alone. But Bella could do a spread eagle just fine, so it couldn't be that move she was going for.

But then Bella did something different. She crouched and began to slowly lean back, knees bent while still maintaining the position of her feet from before.

She was attempting a cantilever **[2]**  despite never trying to do so before. The move was similar to a spread eagle, so it made sense that she started in that position first. But then the skater had to crouch so the knees bent outward like the feet and the body leaned back until it was parallel to the ice. As one would imagine, it took intense physical strength in many areas of the body, but none more so than the core.

Bella managed to lean about halfway down before before her body rebelled instantly, and she collapsed under the strain. She went sliding across the ice, legs bent under her in an odd form and Aaliyah was so glad the girl was so limber otherwise that would have hurt a lot more than it would for another first-timer.

"How's your head?" Aaliyah called out.

"Fine!"

When she finally stopped moving altogether, Aaliyah grabbed the girl's water bottle and had it open and ready for her as she slowly got to her feet and hobbled on over instead of skating. Which was a bit concerning.

"Did you hurt something?"

The girl gave an exaggerated groan and stuck her tongue out. "My knees popped as I went down. And the pops were a bit sharp and sudden. There was also a pop in the space connecting my right leg to my torso though that pain has dulled by now. The knees still hurt a bit though."

"Let me guess, you also want to do the cantilever as well?"

"Yeah. It's one of the goals. Without hands too."

"Just like the hydroblade. I suppose we can fit this into training too, but you realise that it'll be a while before you have enough physical strength to hold those positions?"

"Doesn't mean I can't start practicing now though."

True.

"You'll take a ten minute break off the ice. If your knees are still hurting after that, we'll simply go home and give you more time to rest and break out the ice packs."

Bella groaned but accepted her skate guards **[3]**.

"She okay?!" Deborah asked from the counter.

"She's good!" Aaliyah called back.

* * *

This was not going as it should.

No matter what happened, Prunella Potter was not at all interested in exploring the castle like her father had. She didn't find it suspicious that there was a break in at Gringotts the same day she visited with her father. And both had bumped into Hagrid who hadn't managed to keep his mouth completely shut on the subject of him visiting the bank as well. They'd even gone down in the carts together and watched as he retrieved the covered Stone!

But she only visited the third floor once and it was only because of Ronald Weasley that she went at all. And then they encountered the Mirror of Erised and Prunella hadn't felt interested in going back. Meanwhile, Albus was waiting for Ronald to possibly drag her back with him for another one of his late night wanderings. But it didn't seem like it would happen any time soon.

Meanwhile, out in the forest, Voldemort was slaughtering unicorns in an attempt to prolong his hold over Quirrell, which wasn't going to last another year Albus was certain. His hold was deteriorating and because of that, Quirrell too was deteriorating and looking more ill as the days passed. His face had begun to thin out and gaunt shadows remained where life once did dwell.

At this rate, the Girl-Who-Lived showed absolutely no interest in the obvious issues going on around her. And Voldemort was attempting to regain his former strength though was failing. It was a standstill currently, but that could change at any moment.

There was no way to force a confrontation to test if Prunella was ready to take up the necessary training. And with her parents out of the way currently, he still had more leeway than before. He could get her into the proper lessons if only there was a way to motivate her to work for them.

The Potter twins truly excelled at whatever they decided to put their minds to and it showed in their schooling, both having something they excelled at and something they were dreadful at.

Belladonna's grades were high in DADA, Transfiguration, and Potions. Prunella's grades were high in DADA, Charms, and Flying. Both girls did poorly in History of Magic and Astronomy. They both scraped Acceptables in Herbology.

Their area of interests obviously showed their skill, but their lack of interest in History and Astronomy were concerning since both were instrumental to moving forward in the magical world.

But still, with such proof of their Natural Aptitude, all he had to do was convince the child that she  _wanted_  to take training lessons in order to fulfill the prophecy and face off against Voldemort when the time was right. The easiest way to get someone to do something was to trick them into believing it was their idea in the first place.

Albus was simply unsure of how to go about it. He just needed something to push her in the right direction.

What would do the trick?

Not a rivalry with her sibling. For all intents and purposes, the Potter twins never interacted and didn't seem inclined to do so any time soon. He was certain they hadn't even spoken to one another yet and probably weren't jumping to do so. And neither felt threatened by the other's presence so there was nothing to build off of from that relationship since it technically didn't exist any longer.

And Prunella's best friend was also unmotivated in practically everything so where did it leave Albus and his plans? What could he possibly do so the Girl-Who-Lived would fulfill what she had been destined to do?

Perhaps it was just best to let Voldemort continue as he was. Maybe the broken man would do something to finally get the ball rolling as the muggles would say. He couldn't possibly do much damage when Albus knew he was there, right?

* * *

"Did you know that there is a Cerberus hiding in the third floor corridor?" Hermione asked as she set her bag on the table she and the groups tended to us for studying. And the sudden attention she received made her flush, not being used to such. Neville looked ready to faint though and his grip on his quill had tightened enough to snap it in half.

"Please tell me you didn't find this out from personal experience," Zabini pleaded, looking like he wanted to choke himself on the spot. Heading into such a possibly dangerous area would no doubt be against every Slytherin self-preservation lesson he knew after all. And even Hermione would be horrified if someone had put themselves directly in danger just to find out such information.

And Neville's hands were held together in an almost pleading motion. Like he was begging her to just stop talking altogether.

"No. I was in class with Weasley and Potter and they apparently went to see what the fuss was about during Christmas and ran away. They aren't very quiet. They're going to get caught if Weasley keeps opening his mouth so much."

Nott scoffed. "He's a Weasley. They don't necessarily think before speaking."

"Now I find that downright insulting, don't you, Gred?"

"Yeah, Forge. We do this thinking thing aplenty thank you very much!"

Neville  _eeped_ , knocking over his inkwell and soaking his parchment thoroughly in the black ink. Hermione merely waved her wand at the mess in order to clear it up. She was too busy staring at their newest company to tell him to be more careful.

The group of first years had all whirled around to find themselves staring up at Fred and George Weasley. The ginger twins were grinning down at them, looking more amused than offended. They had an arm around each other and seemed to be very comfortable standing that way.

Hermione's face felt hot, and she just knew that she was blushing from embarrassment over being heard gossiping. Her parents were never fond of such and she hadn't often been allowed to indulge. But Hogwarts was different and the chances of them finding out were slim. So she'd embraced it wholeheartedly since she wasn't necessarily bad-mouthing anyone. She was just pointing out facts she had overheard.

Unlike Hermione, who clammed up the moment they were caught, Bella merely leveled the redheads with an interested look. "I've only seen your younger brother's attitude so I can't really say much for the rest of you."

The twin on the left shrugged his left shoulder. "It depends on what you're looking to judge. Bill's a Curse Breaker for Gringotts-"

"-And Charlie is working on a Dragon Reserve," his brother continued. "Both use their brains a lot considering their professions. Bill even got twelve O.W.L.s with perfect Os across the board in school."

"Percy uses his brain a bit too much in our opinion and is far too concerned with what people think. And then there's-"

"Us!" the other added. "We're always having fun because our plans involve having fun. But it requires some thinking too. How else would our well thought out plans work so well?"

"Ronniekins and GinGin are a bit young to really judge fairly though. They haven't really found their niche yet, you could say."

Hermione felt completely turned around as she watched them volley their explanation back and forth. It was things like that that made her not like sports that required multiple players. Keeping up with them was such a hassle!

One thing was certain. There were a lot of Weasley children. And she'd read that magical families usually had a difficult time producing offspring. So that was an interesting thing. Especially if they managed to have Magical Twins which were rare. The only thing more rare were Magical Triplets, which was almost unheard of.

"So who's who?" Bella asked after a moment, looking between them. "I don't want to call one of you by the wrong name. Be honest and I'll be able to differentiate you from this moment onward."

That had all of them looking to her in confusion. The Weasley Twins looked exactly alike. How would she be able to tell them apart?

"The one on the left had a golden ring around his left eye, and the twin on the right has a golden ring around his right eye. A form of heterochromia. You both also feel different. One is more laid back and the other is more energetic."

Hermione had read that some magical individuals were capable of sensing auras. She wondered if that was what Bella was talking about when she mentioned how the twins felt. It was a rare ability though and usually had to be trained.

Or maybe it was something else entirely? Empathy?

"Fred," the one on the left greeted.

"George," the one on the right added with a wave. "Now that you've told us that, we're going to work to confuse you, you realise?"

"That'll just make it more fun."

The twins ended up bidding them farewell because they,  _'had a date with a toilet seat'_. Whatever that meant. Their mischievous grins made Hermione shiver in slight fear though.

Neville, who had been silent throughout the whole exchange, sighed visibly. "They are the pranksters of the school. I was worried for a second."

Bella snorted. "If they were going to do something, they wouldn't make it so obvious. And not in the Library since Madam Pince is such a hard arse and God only knows what she'd do to them if they dared cross her."

While Hermione didn't agree with the language used, Bella wasn't wrong. Madam Pince didn't seem to trust groups of students who wanted to work in the Library. It was a bit annoying considering they were encouraged to go to the Library when they needed help or a place to work, but when they got there, they were hounded constantly and sent distrustful glares behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles.

"If the twins actually decide to do something, we'll just have to get them back. That's all."

She sounded so confident. It made Hermione feel like she'd actually have a chance to go toe to toe with a couple of third years.

"I'm in," said Nott. "Last prank I played was on Malfoy and that was four years ago. I need new entertainment."

"What did you do to him?" Neville asked, though he looked to be dreading the answer.

Both Zabini and Nott grinned darkly.

"Turned his hair into snakes at his own birthday celebration."

* * *

Voldemort was beginning to lose patience. Quirrell had been absolutely no use to him. In the seven months he'd been possessing the man, he'd been presented with nothing but failure after failure and he was beginning to tire of the repetition.

The snivelling wizard could no doubt feel his wrath, and quivered.

"M-master?"

"Quiet, fool!"

He was beginning to think that they'd have to speed things along. Force was now a necessity.

* * *

**Amara,**

**My parents actually put a lot more importance on education than romance. We**   
**haven't spoken about what will happen when I finally start caring about dating**   
**and I'm not sure what their opinions on things are since there's no need for us**   
**to talk about this stuff yet. Thankfully I have no interest in romance yet so I'm**   
**just going to learn as much as I can before hormones get in the way.**

**The Alps were nice. I've been to France before so that wasn't a new thing, but**   
**we never went to see the mountains. It was only Paris the last three times we**   
**went. I had a room of my own and got to go to the shops and purchase some**   
**books. Most are in French of course, and one is in Italian. I'm excited to get to**   
**them over the summer.**

**From what I have gathered upon studying, is that Hogwarts offers a lecture of**   
**sorts when someone finally has their cycle for the first time. Even if it did not**   
**happen at the school, Madam Pomfrey has to be made aware of it and she will**   
**then give us a small session on how our menstruation differs from the muggle**   
**ones. This information is not available to children unfortunately.**

**Pregnancy for anyone is apparently a little more difficult on the magical side if**   
**what I've read is true. Especially in the recent turn of the century. There does**   
**have to be a compatibility between people if they are unprotected during sex,**   
**but sometimes it's difficult to tell. And some people's magic will get a little too**   
**friendly and render magical contraception ineffective. So there has to be more**   
**than one method of protection used during sex if the couple is not looking for**   
**a child in their future.**

**Sirius Black is the member of an old House that has political power in Magical**   
**Britain. He might not agree with everything they stood for over the years, but**   
**he is still in charge and still holds some pride in his roots. The inbreeding may**   
**not appeal to him, but that's not to say other things don't. So maybe there is**   
**something specific for the Black Family that must be observed since Bella is**   
**technically his daughter by blood.**

**Bella got me that book you suggested, for Christmas. It was very interesting.**   
**I felt the representation was good. That facts were correct. It felt like it was**   
**in the time period it was supposed to be in, which rarely happens in fictional**   
**books these days. It certainly deserved the awards it won. Bella has actually**   
**almost finished her own book. It's taken eleven days since she'd received it**   
**but she's doing really well!**

**Thanks for the suggestion! Now I have my own for you. While in the States**   
**last year for a small holiday, I purchased a book in a Target. 'Shanghai Girls'**   
**by Lisa See. It really opened my eyes to the experiences of immigrants and**   
**what can happen to those with unfortunate luck. It begins in China in 1937**   
**and moves to the USA over the course of the story. I think you'd like it.**

**If you could take one magical class, what would it be and why?**

**Hoping to speak again soon,**   
**Hermione.**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_eagle_\(figure_skating\))]** A Spread Eagle is a figure skating move where the skater glides with heels  
>  facing each other, and toes pointing outward. It's like 1st Position in ballet, but  
> with the feet apart. This move is often used as either an entrance to a jump, or  
> some like to use it when transitioning out of a jump. Extra points if they do as it  
> is difficult.
> 
> **[[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantilever_\(figure_skating\))]** The Cantilever is similar to a Spread Eagle however the knees bend and the  
>  skater must lean back until their torso is parallel to the ice. They must hold the  
> position for a few seconds.
> 
> **[[3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skate_guard)]** Skate Guards are slipped onto the blade of the boot. Easiest to place the blade  
>  in toe first and then pull on the back of the guard and fit it over the back of the  
> blade. They help protect the it from being dulled if you need to walk on a surface  
> that isn't ice. You'll see skaters putting them on when finished with their routines.  
> Protecting the blade is important because it costs money to sharpen them and you  
> don't want to do that more than necessary.

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people are getting restless and impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The drama unfolds!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Prunella took a deep breath. There was really no reason for her to be worried. She was good at Quidditch. It was probably the thing she was best at in the world. Other things may be up for debate but in this, Prue was the best. Better than her own teammates, that was for certain. And while she didn't say anything, they all were aware of it. It was a bit difficult to not see it.

The Chudley Cannons had an unfortunate losing streak said to have come from a curse placed on them by Puddlemere United back in the early 1900s, and Prue was looking to change that for their benefit as well as her own. She was the newest Chaser for the team. And on the side, she was a Reserve for any other position. She was one of the rare few who were versatile when it came to their sport, and as such, she was very valuable as a player. Which was important for future options such as National Teams. And if she wanted to join the Welsh National Quidditch Team she had to have a shiny reputation on the pitch.

The first game of the newest season, was against the Ballycastle Bats. The Bats had a decent reputation among the British and Irish Quidditch League, and were certainly favoured more than the Cannons since they usually finished their seasons in the top five at the very least. Once Prue got out there and the announcers mentioned her name, things would change quickly. They'd snatch the victory out form under the Bats and no one would see it coming.

They'd been waiting for this day for months. Training in specific manoeuvers and formations as a team in preparation for Prue's debut. Captain Hercules Holt was very serious and while he liked having the Girl-Who-Lived on his team, he wasn't merciful in training. It was a shame seeing as the rest of the team was lacking in... basically everything. They worked well together but each were lacking personally which unfortunately affected the team's performance. And that was a problem because it made people disinterested in their team and next to no one wanted to join the team so their names wouldn't be connected to the failures they were expected to have.

The cheering of the crowd could be heard through the locker room. It was obvious that the audience were mostly in support of the Bats, like usual, but that would change.  _ **'Batty Ballycastle Bats!'**_  would be hushed by force.

Prue had faith in the team. Not because they were good, since they generally weren't, but because they were at least passable. She had faith because she was with them and she was skill personified when it came to Flying. She'd been at this for years and new every move there was. She could play blindfolded and even had before. Prue had the right to brag about this one thing. It was her area of expertise.

Her bright orange robes may clash with her red hair and make her freckles stand out all the more, but it was a sacrifice well worth it in the end. Besides, she could simply pretend they were another colour. Like black. Black was good. Black went with everything.

"Mount your brooms," Holt ordered. "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."

Prue scoffed internally. When she was through with them, the team would be changing their motto back to  _'We shall conquer'_. Them changing it had lost them respect and they needed to earn it back.

The double doors flew open and the announcers screamed their team name, introducing each player one by one. Prue waited patiently for her much larger teammates to go ahead of her in order, and came out at the very back.

" **And last but not least, the biggest surprise for anyone this season-** "

" **Though the littlest overall by far, I did a double take when I saw the list, folks!** "

" **The newest Chaser for the Cannons, Prunella Alula Potter!** "

Show time! All she had to do was keep making scores and gaining penalty shots. Even if Galvin Gudgeon was a shoddy Seeker, Prue was certain she could lead the team to victory. She just needed to get the team up one hundred and fifty points as quickly as possible in order to maintain a lead. So even if the Bats got the Snitch, the Cannons would still come out on top. And that would mean they wouldn't be the lowest in the League for the first time in over a decade!

She loved Quidditch and all the planning that went into the matches. There was a lot more work to sports than non-sports fans believed. Especially for those not playing the actual games.

The Bludgers were freed from their prison, shooting high into the air and out of sight against the storm grey sky of mid-January. It was chilly and her glasses had been charmed to repel snow and water, while her gloves were warm and inviting. She couldn't even hear anything over the crowd that was still cheering for the Bats. The referee held the Quaffle aloft for three seconds, before tossing it into the air and blowing his whistle.

Prue was on a Nimbus 2000, which was the best model of any broom to date. It was the fastest and if handled properly, could do some extraordinary things. So when the Quaffle seemed to freeze in the air for a split second before gravity began tugging it to the ground, Prue was able to lean forward while flipping her broom upside down in order to catch the ball in her free hand.

The broom sped off, her still upside down as she weaved through players left and right, having trained this method many times over the years. The announcers were proclaiming their shock at the daring move performed by an eleven year old girl.

She reached the hoops faster than anyone else and angled the broom upward, releasing the Quaffle and pulling the broom out from under herself, rotating it in hand. Right as she fell, she whipped the broom out like it was a Beater's bat, and slammed the bristles into the Quaffle, sending it through the center hoop too fast for even the Bats' Keeper to react.

Prue was on the broom in time to avoid slamming into the sandy pitch, and she could hear the announcers losing their bloody minds.

" **Prunella Potter just performed as spectacular Breakbeat, so named after Bronston Breakbeat. Folks, it looks like the Cannons are bringing it this season!** "

The game only got better from there.

* * *

" **Brendon Bilcrest catches the Golden Snitch, earning the Ballycastle Bats one hundred and fifty points, and ending what turned out to be the most shocking game in the Cannons' history!** " Samantha Simmons announced, sounding astounded. And for good reason. The outcome had been one that no one had been expecting. Even from the Girl Who Lived.

Samantha's fellow commentator, Archimedes Erchinbald decided to fill the listeners in. " **Folks, I don't know how to say this, but even with the Snitch in their possession, the Bats have lost to the Chudley Cannons. If you hadn't managed to keep score on your own, let me apprise you of the standings. The score came out to an astonishing 780/170 in favour of the Cannons.** "

" **And not only that,** " said Samantha, voice still full of awe, " **but six hundred and fifty of those points were scored by Prunella Potter herself. The Girl-Who-Lived has proven that she is not one to play around on the Quidditch Pitch! I can only imagine what the upcoming season is going to be like if this continues, my dear listeners!** "

Sirius turned away from the Wireless in order to look at Remus, who was sitting at the table in their rooms, jaw hanging. "She won." He couldn't even believe it himself but the announcers ere just as shocked as the fans. Sure, everyone knew she had a knack for Quidditch but they had never truly considered what it meant before.

"I think it is safe to say all of Prunella's Aptitude went to Quidditch," remarked the werewolf, looking properly amazed. "It's obvious that the blessings on twins has helped girls a lot in their chosen fields. They're very fortunate that they received such blessings that actually help them achieve their goals."

"She absolutely slaughtered the Bats. The Cannons now hold the record for the most amount of points won in the shortest amount of time in the British and Irish Quidditch League! One hour and thirteen minutes, Moony! she managed that much in only one hour and thirteen minutes! And she performed moves that most adults wouldn't even dare to try!"

"If she was capable of this, can you only imagine what Bella, who puts more effort into training for her sport, will be capable of?"

"Damn."

"Indeed."

* * *

**Hi, Tom. I need some information if you have it.**

She didn't have much time to really sit back and talk to Tom, but whenever she did, it was always enlightening. So far he'd been able to tell her a lot of interesting things about the magical community of Britain. One big thing was that they, in his time, had been very behind the rest of the world and from what she had personally witnessed, it was still like that.

It was a bit sad considering Minister Fudge liked to brag that their country was ahead of everyone else. According to international papers, they weren't. Fudge appeared to be the world's biggest liar and no one of importance seemed to notice.

Anyway, she wanted to talk to Tom because he was interesting and super smart.

_Hello, Bella. I will try my best to help if I can._

**Right. So I wanted to know if abandoning children for not having magic is a**   
**common practice in the magical community?**

_This is… a very loaded topic. Give me a moment to put my thoughts in order, please?_

She waited patiently since she knew that it was considered controversial for whatever reason. Many people seemed to have extreme opinions on the subject itself. Some leaning toward good, some leaning toward bad, but both versions were pretty dangerous in her opinion.

And usually the anger over Squibs was never for the right reasons.

_The definition of the word, 'Squib' has been under scrutiny for many centuries. Most_   
_think it means 'without magic'. In fact, Squibs have magic, they simply can't access_   
_it. Magic users all have a magical core. The core then branches out into a network of_   
_pathways for the magic to travel through so it can be used. Squibs do not have that_   
_network and therefore cannot manipulate their magic like those with them can._

_Do you follow?_

She nodded to herself even as she wrote her agreement. It seemed simple enough. Though she wondered why she had heard nothing of this in the entire time she'd been in the magical world. Six months or so and not one mention of it anywhere.

That was concerning.

_This perfectly explains why Squibs can make some potions, and why muggle-repelling_   
_magics don't work on them. They can see magical creatures only those with magic can_   
_and they can even have children with muggles and still bear magic from such unions.  
_

**If this is all possible, why do so many families just abandon the Squib children?**   
**If they are born from two Purebloods especially, I don't see why they get rid of**   
**their kids who would still be a Pureblood thanks to their heritage. It's stupid in**   
**my opinion.  
**

It literally made no sense to her.

_I never said magicals were a smart lot. Many either haven't acknowledged this, haven't_   
_noticed this, or don't even understand the study itself._

_Often they let the opinions of others blind them. Purebloods are especially guilty of this,_   
_but others do it as well. This comes from an ingrained prejudice against those without_   
_magic. Of course we must realise that such a prejudice in our community has a very real_   
_and very understandable past. Magical beings were hunted for years, leaving a stain on_   
_our history and resentment in our hearts. So many wizards tend to look upon those who_   
_don't use magic, as inferior. And that extends to Squibs, who cannot use their magic._   
_Utter foolishness of course. Critical thinking would do so much good, not that magical_   
_people tend to make use of it._

The way he spoke and criticised the actions of those raised with magic made her wonder. He didn't  _seem_  like he fell in line with people like Malfoy. He didn't even seem like Dumbledore and the line of his views either.

What was Tom? What did he believe in? Whose side was he on?

**Are you a muggleborn, Tom? You talk like you didn't grow up the same as those**   
**with these beliefs. You seem almost displeased.**

There was a moment of silence, before Tom replied finally.

_I'm a muggle-raised Halfblood. And an orphan. I grew up in London in the 30s and 40s._   
_I don't know how much has changed from then, but if I know Magical Britain, next to_   
_nothing has really changed. They are very set in their ways. Some things need changing_   
_here and there. It was- is a… mess. A mess many don't want to acknowledge._

So Tom was around for WWII. That meant he was at least eighty years old! She whistled in amazement. He didn't talk like he was super old though. And how long had he been in the book to begin with?

_What brought on the sudden interest in Pureblood foolishness and traditions? You don't_   
_seem to be very invested in propagating their ideals and most not on their side wouldn't_   
_bother to even try seeing their side to begin with._

Ah, yes. The ever present truth of humanity not wanting to use their blasted brains.

Nothing new.

**Oh, I am not. But I do think it is good to understand where others are coming**   
**from even if I think they're wrong and stupid. It allows me to form an opinion**   
**that is worth something.**

**Let's just say my sperm and egg donors abandoned me because they thought**   
**I was a Squib. They also liked my twin sister more than me and wanted to be**   
**with her more, and used the Squib excuse to make themselves feel better. My**   
**godfather and even Dumbledore had sworn I had magic but they didn't listen.**   
**And now they're finally paying the price and the Light side is horrified 'cause**   
**only those on the Dark side apparently get rid of Squibs. But the Dark side is**   
**angry because I was magical and they abandoned me to muggles which they**   
**think is like Hell on Earth or something.**

**Drama basically. They are currently in prison, but they shortened the sentence**   
**thanks to gold. But they had to pay like half a billion Galleons so the coin purse**   
**will be notably empty when they are released. Their current punishment doesn't**   
**seem all that horrible, but eventually they'll feel the loss, which is good enough**   
**for me.**

Bella didn't feel comfortable revealing  _everything_  about herself just yet, but not explaining something wouldn't be fair. Especially since he told her the time period he grew up in as well as his blood status and alluded to the conditions in which he grew up in. It had given her an idea as to what he'd gone through in his youth so she felt it fine to give him context.

It wasn't like knowing about how crummy her sperm and egg donors were, was going to be very useful for him.

_I'm glad they are facing justice for their actions. I must confess to not loving muggles_   
_due to my own experiences involving their war and attitudes toward those they deem_   
_'unnatural', but I do not support abandoning Squibs. Nor killing them off. That was one_   
_practice I always felt was barbaric and based in foolishness. My acquaintances deluded_   
_themselves into thinking otherwise but that is a story for another time._

_I've had ample time to consider other things I know. I may have made rash decisions_   
_before making this book. Certain opinions I didn't form on my own and just siphoned_   
_off the Purebloods in my House. I'm not suddenly a fan of muggles and muggleborns,_   
_but I don't outright hate them any longer. I am mostly indifferent now after time was_   
_taken to think. Muggles can stay away from us and muggleborns can have the chance_   
_to adapt to our world. Though if they don't… well… my opinion isn't important at this_   
_moment._

Thing was, his lack of explanation on his opinion, was the most ominous thing he's said thus far. And that was how Bella realised that Tom wasn't some powerless book. He had emotions and beliefs that he had held onto for decades while he'd been in said book. And while some things may have changed in whatever mind he had, he was still relatively the same as when he created his book.

He was a living person, and people always had an agenda. No matter the direction it was pointing in, Tom no doubt had an agenda of his own. Especially if he was so put out over being stuck in a book for so long. He said he hadn't expected what it would be like.

Bella had to remember that just because Tom was nice and helpful whenever she pulled him out for a chat, didn't mean he didn't have a mind of his own. And it didn't mean that he didn't have plans of his own.

* * *

Severus Snape hated many things in his life, but one thing he found himself absolutely detesting, was the job he'd been so  _graciously_  - that was sarcasm of course -given by Albus, to stalk Quirrell's every damn move! And Quirrell wasn't that much of a dunce, so he did notice that Severus was always around. More often than either of them would like him to be. But he was a threat to the Philosopher's Stone and by extension, the rest of the wizarding world, so Severus couldn't simply let him go about his business as they both wanted.

Quirrell was practically seeping Dark Magic and someone like Severus was able to feel it deeply. And if he felt it, then Albus also felt it, but had decided for some reason to do nothing about it save for ordering Severus around like a common mutt.

The only reason he was so attuned to Dark Magic was his experience at the Dark Lord's hand. The man loved the Dark Arts and didn't rein in his power whenever using them, so his followers had always gotten a heavy dose of his magic even when not under it personally. He was very free and made certain that all of them knew it.

The Defence professor wasn't a Dark Wizard. Quirrell had formerly been teaching Muggle Studies. He was as Light as they could come and just as annoying, but over the course of the summer, he'd come back with a dark aura that didn't come by naturally. He was tainted. And becoming tainted involved an abrupt changing to one's own magical core that the body could not personally handle, and it was usually never a good thing. And always resulted in illness of some sort. And seeing the man's health deteriorate as of late, Severus wasn't far off on his assumption.

And with this information in mind, it was no surprise that Albus would want the man watched at all times. Though Severus couldn't for the life of him understand why Albus would allow him to be around children at all. His magic was simply wrong now. It wasn't safe to be around him, especially for children who hadn't fully attained control of their magic yet.

All Severus really had to do was to stop him from getting the Stone right until the end of the term. No DADA professor had managed to last more than a year ever since the Dark Lord himself had applied for the position and had been denied. As retaliation, he'd cursed the very position in spite. Especially since when in his youth it has simply been called Defence and Dumbledore was the one to rename it. The curse was on the name Defence Against the Dark Arts, not the Albus had taken note yet.

Should the class be renamed again, the curse would be broken, but Severus was feeling spiteful as well. Dark Magic was not in itself bad, since people were either born with Light, Grey, or Dark magical cores where their skills leaned naturally. There were Light magics that could do the same things as Dark magics but the favouritism toward the Light allowed them to get away with everything. Dumbledore trying to drown out the teachings of proper Dark Magic had annoyed him. As a result, Severus had decided to say nothing about the curse.

And as the curse was still in effect since their last DADA professor had up and died right before Quirrell came back, Quirrell was certainly not going to make it back for another year of teaching.

They just needed that curse to do its duty in time. For the most part, save for his gallivanting about the Forbidden Forest in the light of the moon, Quirrell wasn't a threat if his downward spiral of health was anything to go by. His body would eventually give in, and that was all Severus wanted at this point. He was even considering personally handling the situation since he'd recently created a new poison and needed a test subject.

He could only thank the gods that neither of the Potter children seemed very interested in exploring and getting into mischief during actual school time. His duties were less stressful knowing neither girl wanted to roam around in the darkness or break rules. It was a small boon the universe had afforded him and he was grateful for it.

Prunella Potter had been the most shocking. She honestly was nothing like either of her parents. He still couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing considering how both had changed so much over the years.

* * *

**Prue,**

**Congratulations on your victory! We listened to the match and were completely**   
**amazed by your talent on a broom! Though I will admit to being worried about**   
**you. Yes, I know that you are the best, but I cannot help myself when we know**   
**just how dangerous that sport can get. And you are so young too.**

**Please remember to take care of yourself. Don't spend too much time training.**   
**I know you may want to focus on flying and Quidditch the most, but there is so**   
**much more to life that sports. Spend time with your friends and have some fun.**

**Don't let your situation get you down. You will persevere and will come out of**   
**it stronger than before. Keep doing your best.**

**I sent you some celebratory sweets. Make sure you do your homework and let**   
**Percy know if anyone bothers you.**

**Mrs. Weasley.**

Prue smiled a little at the letter and the box it came with. Mrs. Weasley's food was great and she'd sent over some treacle tart for a job well done.

Prue could try to follow the instructions on the letter, but there was just one problem.

Ron was her only friend.

Blinking away her sudden and unexpected sadness, Prue pulled out a magazine for Twilfitt and Tattings. From what her trainers had been telling her, she needed new shoes because her feet were too big now and the toes were cramped. She'd also need 'training bras', but didn't really know how to order those since she was unaware of her size. Or really anything about bras to begin with. Lily had never really taken her aside about those since she was always too busy being unhappy, and Mrs. Weasley had been the one to teach Prue how to shave so...

She could just buy a bunch of different training bras and hope for the best.

Yeah, that was the best idea. And then ask Mrs. Weasley for help later.

As for her knickers... they were tight but still worked so she didn't feel like stressing over them just yet. Even her knickers were tailored, and size wasn't given to her when she got her clothes, so she didn't even know how to go about getting more that actually fit.

Shopping for oneself was really hard when you didn't know enough about everything to do it right.

Tapping her wand against the choices she'd made, Prue nodded to herself as a fancy  **G**  for Gringotts appeared that meant the transaction was completed. Registering her wand to her vault was the best idea she'd ever had. Especially since she didn't know when the next time she'd be getting to the bank would be.

* * *

If there was one thing Theodore Nott was absolutely certain of, it was that Belladonna Potter was a madwoman. She had the strangest reactions to information. Reactions that were not considered normal by any stretch of the imagination. She had a schedule that made his brain hurt just from thinking about it. And she had the drive to stick to that schedule for months.

She was basically exercising every single day, and a lot more every other day. And when she wasn't training, she was doing schoolwork for two worlds! The magical side and the muggle side! And somehow she maintained a position in the top ten in every class, coming out at the very top for DADA and Potions, even though she had so much work.

Bella had heard about someone trying to illegally hatch a dragon and claimed to want one for herself. She learned that the feast on Samhain was just filled with sweets only, and ended up groaning in annoyance. And when she found out that he and Blaise weren't fans of muggles, she didn't call them scum and insist they were horrible people all because they didn't think muggles should mix with magicals. She simply said that all muggles weren't so bad and left it at that.

There was no interest in Gobstones or Quidditch but she did take a liking to Wizard's Chess simply because she found the arguing of the pieces to be amusing and liked to manipulate them to sell one another out. She cared less about winning and more about causing the pieces undue stress. It was sort of funny in its own way, and allowed her more Slytherin side to come out. And she didn't show that side often because beyond her ambition, she acted more like a Hufflepuff in his opinion. Nice to everyone until given a reason to not be nice. Open with her opinions and feelings. The usual Hufflepuff mentality.

To make up for her lack of interest in wizarding games, she and Granger taught them Cribbage and Poker. The younger girl had brought them over one day after she came back from training and dedicated a single study session to games instead of actual studying. And that was when Blaise learned that he was very good at Poker. And when he kept winning, Bella mentioned Strip Poker being a thing that adult muggles liked to play. Granger fervently insisted on them never playing that version though and wouldn't explain the rules either.

He was certain they got the idea though. It was hard not to considering the word strip was involved. Granger's words had left Bella cackling though and got them kicked out of the Library by Pince.

So life as a member of Belladonna Potter's group was interesting.

And yes, it was  _her_  group. Whether she realised it or not, she was deferred to immediately. And it had nothing to do with social status or such tripe. It was simply how she carried herself compared to the rest of them. She had this thing about her that made her more of a leader figure.

Theo didn't care much for being in charge though he'd never bow down to someone else. He was a more go-with-the-flow kind of person and just did what he wanted. Blaise didn't like being in the forefront to begin with because it meant a lot of attention and attention could be dangerous. Granger had confidence issues and currently would never assume control of anything if she didn't work on it, though that might change eventually. And Longbottom needed more help than Granger did if the things he said about his family were true.

So obviously, the one already working at their career with such surety would be the leader. It only made sense.

Bella didn't care for ingrained House prejudice. She boldy stated that she thought they were stupid and that she was ashamed of everyone for falling into the common line of thinking instead of forming their own opinions. Like how she explained that she didn't like Gryffindors. Not because of what they were known for or the common hatred among Slytherin. No, she disliked them solely by what had happened around her that year alone. She called it Reactional Judgment and felt it was justified.

And only a choice few like the Weasley twins weren't horrendous so far. They targeted everyone equally and not just Slytherins. And unlike many of their Housemates, they didn't actually hurt anyone with their pranks. Because they weren't looking to hurt people, they were looking to have a good laugh and to liven things up for people. Something about wanting a joke shop in the future.

Like that time with the toilet seat. It had gotten out that the two had blown up the boy's lavatory in the seventh floor corridor and stole one of the seats that they sent home to their little sister. And the only reason that bit of information was publicly known was because their mum sent them a Howler the next morning berating them for theft and setting a bad example for their sister who had apparently thought it was funny and refused to give up the gift. Dumbledore did not demand it be returned either.

And then there was the situation in their own House. Draco Malfoy was probably one of the more annoying students, though he technically posed no threat to anyone in their group. Not Longbottom and certainly not Granger if she had Bella and Longbottom on her side. But just because he couldn't do much didn't mean they wanted to hear his mouth moving incessantly. And while it didn't move as much recently, it still moved because that was how his parents taught him and he didn't know any better.

And when Draco's mouth moved, Pansy's mouth moved, which was an unfortunate curse upon all of them. Pansy fit too many stereotypes and was a pain in their arses.

Pansy wasn't like Daphne or even Tracey. Or Millicent. She was louder, more bold, and less considerate. Still followed tradition enough to not be considered a brutish Gryffindor, but was too busy thinking of her betrothal to Draco to consider other things around her. Theo was eagerly awaiting the day that Lucius Malfoy broke that engagement off because they all knew it was coming. All but Pansy that is. Pansy had already planned what their marriage home was going to look like and often repeated her ideas to anyone willing to listen or at least suffer because she was held in higher standing than them and her father had enough clout to be a nuisance to those he disagreed with.

When Theo was younger and he thought about what his time at Hogwarts would be like, he'd assumed he'd be looked down upon at every turn and end up with only Blaise as a friend. Considering his father's actions during the war and how he was in Azkaban for them, it wasn't like he'd been reaching with his assumptions. Everyone knew that his father was a Death Eater. They also knew his grandfather was as well, but there was no actual proof of that fact. Though it was hard to  _not_  notice.

Bella had been told not so subtly about it by someone in passing one day and simply blinked at Theo and asked, "Do you share the exact same beliefs as your grandfather?"

He'd answered that he didn't, and it wasn't a lie. He didn't see the appeal of bowing to another and kissing their feet. And he didn't understand why if the Dark Lord was Slytherin's Heir, how come he never took up his Lordship? And additionally, Theo could never respect someone who groveled and that was what his grandfather has described, though not with the same wording.

Merlin forbid the Notts be seen as simpering fools. Though considering how willing his father and grandfather had been to lick the boots of an unknown man, he was certain their name had already landed such a title. And the only thing to make it better was that so many other Dark Families had also done the same and were also considered a bunch of kiss ups.

Sure, he agreed somewhat with what his grandfather had told him the Dark Lord wanted, but others just made no sense to him. It sounded more like he was pandering to the prejudice that Purebloods lived with, instead of actually wanting some of the things he claimed to desire. Because the man rarely talked about what he'd wanted to his followers and never could Theo's grandfather provide a direct memory of the Dark Lord saying something himself.

It was all just very suspicious.

But Theo was still a Pureblood and he felt there were growing injustices toward people of his standing. And he felt that they were unfair. And while he wasn't going to outwardly attack others because they disagreed with his beliefs, he wouldn't put forth the effort to assist them in any scenario ever if he could help it.

That was just how he'd chosen to handle the situation. Pettiness.

Yes, life at Hogwarts had been completely different from what he had expected. And he had to admit to himself at least, that he kind of liked it. There was never a dull moment. Either it was the Gringotts break in, the Potter drama in the papers, illegal dragon eggs, Bella's career that always had her missing classes every other day, or even a recent slew of murdered unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. His time at Hogwarts was surely very interesting.

* * *

When Fred and George Weasley left the Common Room that morning, they hadn't done so with any expectations beyond getting a fulfilling breakfast and then skiving in order to create some good merchandise for their growing business.

Stepping foot in the Great Hall had been a mistake.

There had been only a small whisper, but it was enough to set them both on edge. Technically, only Fred physically heard it, but as they were mentally linked their whole lives, his thoughts broadcasted to George instantly, making them both aware that something wasn't right.

And that was when the laughter began and both turned to each other to see bright pink hair instead of the usual carrot-like ginger their family was known for.

Both blinked for a few seconds before the same thought echoed throughout their shared minds.

_'We look good in pink.'_

And after a cursory look around where they spotted a dark-haired little witch giggling into her hand at the Slytherin Table, the thought was then followed by, _'Bella Potter has declared war.'_

* * *

**Hermione,**

**The plan to go to a theme park is getting stronger. I think we'll be able to make it**   
**happen! And this one has a mini zoo, which Bella will love. She likes snakes more**   
**than anything. She wanted to bring a snake to Hogwarts but couldn't because the**   
**rules said so.**

**I know this is a bit odd, but what's your hair like? Mine was a bit of a mess when I**   
**was little so I started to grow it out. With all the extra weight from the length, I've**   
**managed to naturally straighten my hair. Bella's hair is pin straight and cannot hold**   
**a curl or a wave. She used to plait her hair in small plaits whenever she showered,**   
**and would leave it like that for a couple of days. And it would be wavy for like three**   
**hours when she removed the plaits! And then just straighten again.**

**Hair products don't help the hair hold position either. She hasn't had time to try any**   
**magic hair products yet, so we'll see. Told her to expect them not to work, that way**   
**anything else was literally a step up.**

**Anyway, I brought up the hair because my mum was talking about her life back in**   
**India before she was abandoned, and how her mum had expected her kids to grow**   
**their hair long too. Mum's hair is very short in retaliation, to spite her. But someone**   
**made a comment at school, saying I'm only growing my hair out because my Indian**   
**mum is making me and I got a bit angry. And I may have ripped some of her hair out**   
**in response.**

**And I know you do not approve of violence but bad-mouthing my mum will never fly**   
**around here. And perpetuating Indian stereotypes sure as hell won't be winning her**   
**any points either. I also may have told her that she was a bland bitch who needed to**   
**learn how to season her food with the spices her people stole from mine.**

**I am not grounded surprisingly, but the school was not pleased. I don't regret it one**   
**bit because she had it coming [1]. No, I am not violent by nature but in that moment,**   
**after weeks of her talking, I had to do something. And it felt bloody fantastic! I'm not**   
**sorry either.**

**Is Bella getting up to any trouble where you're at? Or anyone else perhaps? Or am I**   
**doomed to be the only punished one this year?**

**Talk to you soon,**   
**Amara**

* * *

"I'm just a little baffled that there isn't some kind of spell or whatever that can make it so you can use your magic," Bella said as she trailed her fingers over the keys of her keyboard.

Ever since Bella had that talk with Tom, and he explained just what a Squib really was, she'd been thinking. Squibs had magic but not the magical circulatory system necessary in order to use it. Ever since that discussion, she'd looked into the topic during her group study sessions in the library and found some interesting information that people apparently chose to ignore.

There had been Squib Seers. Actual Seers who could either see the future, present, past, or even into other worlds and planes of existence. They could perform no magic spells whatsoever, nor warding or Runes usage, but they still managed to get visions and such, which was a magical skill but wasn't dependent upon a magical focus in order for it to work. That meant no wand was needed in order to have visions.

So how was that possible if a Squib didn't have a 'network' like Tom said they didn't? Was the ability coming straight from their core? Where was the core located anyway? Her immediate thought would be the center of gravity on a person, but maybe it was located elsewhere. No books she'd checked out had been particularly forthcoming.

It was very confusing and she was frustrated that after centuries, no one had even stopped to consider finding a way for Squibs to tap into their magic so they too could use it? People would complain about Squibs ruining their society but didn't give a thought to fixing that very issue so it never happened again?

If they had developed a method in the hundreds of years of time they'd had at their disposal, then Amara and her parents would be able to use their own magic. And no one would ever again have to be abandoned for  _not_  being able to use their magic. It seemed like one of those situations where if someone wasn't directly affected, then they just didn't care to pay attention or learn. Ignorance was taught unfortunately, and the magical community seemed to be steeping in it.

"It's fine," Amara tried to say, but Bella wasn't having it. She was so annoyed that she had to turn the keyboard off so she could concentrate better.

"Not it isn't!" she insisted, turning around in her swivel chair. "Your parents were abandoned for not being able to use their magic like others can. And I've learned that the Magical Community of Great Britain is pretty set in their ways, so convincing them that it's wrong to abandon a child just for not being able to use their magic, doesn't seem like it'll happen any time soon. But making it so Squibs can use their magic, seems like a much more possible avenue to take. And it would be turning their own ridiculous prejudice against them and give them no more excuses."

The whole fact that magical people seemed to go on and on about how precious children were, but then half would get rid of a child if they couldn't use magic, didn't sit well with her. Purebloods put so much stock into their blood status and would even intermarry in their own families just to keep their lines 'pure', or at least what they thought was pure. But a Squib born of two Purebloods was still a Pureblood. But they'd suddenly act as if the child was a muggle and then get rid of them. And while abandoning wasn't as bad as outright murder, it still wasn't okay.

And according to Sirius, Purebloods have been slowly declining in the past century. They were finding it more and more difficult to bear children at all, so the thought of leaving a child in the muggle world all because they couldn't use their own magic, seemed extra stupid! Tom had said they could produce magical offspring! It made her question if there were truly muggleborns, or if they were just descendants of abandoned Squibs.

Families like the Weasleys were considered a rarity because their sheer number was almost unheard of in recent years. But Sirius said the Weasleys had branched out and accepted people from all families. Even Squibs. There was one Weasley alive who was a Squib and he worked as an accountant in the muggle world, but was still invited to family get togethers and still treated like someone people wanted to be around. They didn't shun him.

And he was dating a muggle woman and any offspring they had would take away the Pureblood status from the Weasleys, and none of them cared.

So it was just baffling that this one glaring issue between the Light and Dark sides had gone unresolved for so long. And since the Light had done nothing to fix the situation, they were just as to blame.

"If you think it's something that should be changed… why don't  _you_  change it?" Amara suggested as she adjusted her glasses, looking at Bella over the top of her copy of White Teeth.

Bella blinked. "But I wouldn't know the first thing about how to solve the problem."

The other girl shrugged as she reached for her water bottle. "You could learn. Magic has many branches that you can look into. Magic can do just about anything. It'll take work and effort though. And you won't be competitive forever so planning for your future after you leave competition would be a good idea to start on while you can. You won't be participating in professional skating for that long after your retirement either, so maybe this is what you'll be doing with your life."

She was right. Skaters were only competitive for a short time. And she was a witch, meaning she'd live a lot longer than a normal human. Having half a century at least of free time in relative youth would be really boring and just doing professional skating in relation to ice shows would get old very quickly.

So if Hermione was going to be Minister for Magic… Bella was going to be the one to fix the Squib issue once and for all.

"You know this is gonna to be one hell of a research project?"

"I'll help the best I can. Be kinda rude not to since I'm the one to pressure you into it."

And this was why Amara was the only friend she'd had for such a long time.

* * *

"Remus, what would I have to look into if I wanted to create a way for Squibs to use their magic?"

The question had come completely out of nowhere and blindsided him. But Remus was very quick to pick up on things and it only took a few seconds to process the question and all the possible extensions that came from it.

And then he was staring at his goddaughter with intense focus. She was eleven but was already thinking of these things. He shouldn't be surprised since she was an athlete working toward her career in the muggle world already.

"That's an interesting topic to pay attention to. I don't really think anyone has ever considered such a thing before."

The girl shrugged her thin shoulders, though she looked annoyed. "Seems kinda obvious, you know. My first ever friend told me that she's a Squib a while back, and I recently learned that they have magic but just can't use it like we can. So why can't there be a way for them to do that? I was told magic could do anything and yet no one seems to take a moment and simply think about what it is truly capable of."

She had a point. "I would think it would have to be something between Spell Creation and Potions. And lucky for you, Professor Snape is very well versed at both and he is available at all times should students need assistance."

Her face scrunched up. "But would B-Man want to talk to an eleven year old about this kind of thing when he's got assignments to grade and classes to plan for?"

"'B-Man'?" Remus repeated in confusion. If anything, he would have settled for 'Snake' since it was so close to the man's name and he was the Head of Slytherin House. Professor Snake. It even sounded right to the ear.

"Batman," the girl clarified.

The need to cackle was strong, but Remus managed to fend it off with all of his mental fortitude. He was going to share this little bit of information with Sirius and then neither of them would inform Severus because mercy be on them all if he ever found out.

"Well the worst he could do is refuse to assist you. And if that is the case, we can write to other Potions and Spell Masters out there. A genuine inquiry would surely interest them."

"Awesome."

* * *

"Bella, you have to do your schoolwork," Hermione said, making her friend pout. And the reason Bella was pouting was because she was having one of those days where she just didn't feel like doing anything but sit in the chair while wrapped up in a blanket, and hum to herself.

It wasn't something she did often, but every now and then Bella could not be convinced to do her homework. And it was lucky that she had a different schedule for how she would turn her work in, but there was nothing wrong in getting ahead. And recently, she'd been slowing down in terms of productivity, and it was a bit concerning.

"I  _started_  it," was all the girl mumbled in response.

Every other time Bella got like this, which was only three times previously at Hogwarts, she'd said something about being tired. But not in body. She felt like mentally she had been up for days and just needed to rest, but then couldn't get herself to sleep. So she was mentally drained but her body wasn't tired and therefore she couldn't actually sleep. Nor would she trust potions to make her sleep either.

Reading usually helped Hermione fall asleep at night and when she suggested that, the other girl had violently shook her head. "Reading just makes it all worse," the girl had said. "Nothing shuts up in there and I really don't want to deal with it right now. It's too loud."

Hermione didn't understand what that meant. From how Bella spoke, it was as if there was noise in her head and she couldn't escape it. But how was that possible? Was this a magical ailment? Should Hermione inform a professor about her concerns?

When Hermione pulled the boys aside to ask if it was normal for magical people to hear things that no one else could, they had all given her a negative. So whatever was bothering Bella wasn't common or natural and Hermione had half a mind to go to Professor Black about it, since he was Bella's godfather.

Perhaps Amara would know more about the situation?

* * *

**Amara,**

**Bella hasn't gotten into any trouble. She's been very calm most of the time and**   
**usually does not express an interest in exploration of the castle. She sometimes**   
**focuses a bit too much in her training and schoolwork in my opinion. And if I'm**   
**say it's too much, then you know it's too much.**

**And speaking of her focus, I have an important question for you. You've known**   
**Bella a lot longer than any of us so perhaps you can shed some light on this for**   
**me.**

**Has Bella ever made mention of sounds or voices in her head? Now and then she**   
**gets a bit irritable, but usually from being tired. Yet she isn't actually tired since**   
**she can never get to sleep. But she describes it as being too loud in her head and**   
**she can't escape it. She says that reading makes it worse and that is why she will**   
**fight tooth and nail to avoid reading something.**

**When it gets especially bad, she'll roll up in the blanket she proudly brings those**   
**days, and will just sit on the chair and hum while rocking from side to side. This**   
**has happened four times so far and the boys have no idea what it is that gets her**   
**doing it. There is no magical malady that I could find that would cause it.**

**It gets to the point where she can't even focus on class. And while I am no longer**   
**shocked by her lacking attention in History of Magic and Astronomy, other classes**   
**she has always done well in will suffer. And her inability to focus on those days then**   
**affects her work. All of it.**

**Feeling just a bit worried,**   
**Hermione**

* * *

Where was it? Quirrell had already been down to the chamber that Dumbledore had been setting protections over. They'd both been down there multiple times over the past few months and yet nothing of the Stone would present itself! There was no feeling of it anywhere!

Voldemort was beginning to think that the Stone wasn't in Hogwarts to begin with! That perhaps Dumbledore knew he was there somehow and had been playing him the entire time. Though would Dumbledore really allow the Dark Lord to roam his corridors without supervision?

As he considered it… yes, the old man certainly would. Albus was as much of a mastermind as Voldemort and he liked it when his plans went through as they should. And if they involved letting Voldemort plot underneath his ridiculously crooked nose, without interruption, then of course he wouldn't act. The man was just as devious as the very person he claimed to detest the most.

But what was he planning if he was aware of what was going on? That was the biggest issue. What was going on inside Dumbledore's addled brain?

It was late January and there were five months left in the school year. Five more months of them running around without any idea of what to do. Meanwhile, his control over Quirrell was slipping because possession was never meant to be permanent. And Quirrell's body wasn't strong enough to hold him for much longer. So the Stone needed to be acquired soon lest Voldemort end up as a wraith again, having to possess snakes in order to get anything done. And snakes lasted even less than humans did when it came to possession.

"My- my Lord?"

He sent his irritation through their weak bond and Quirrell flinched in response. But he still spoke up.

"P-perhaps the Potter girl knows, my Lord. They think she defeated you so they might have told her where it is. Perhaps Dumbledore is trying to inspire her to foolish heroics."

That was true. Even with the drama that had unfolded between Potter and Black, a good portion of the British community still looked to the younger child as the Girl Who Lived. None but Voldemort knew the truth. And with Black's childish way of dealing with her, meaning leaving her to do whatever without any proper guidance and not taking his duty as her third parent seriously, she'd be easy to grab and then kill.

He'd wanted to kill Belladonna first, but for the sake of his new body, he could make this exception. Especially if it was easier to get the one over the other to begin with. Slytherins, even the baby ones, weren't the easiest to dupe.

"Get the girl, Quirrell. Do not disappoint me!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

* * *

Bella wished there was more time to dedicate to YouTube. It was very different having to keep up with essentially two lives. And the biggest downside in her opinion, was the inability to brows YouTube as much as she wanted.

Her latest training video had been uploaded the other day and she couldn't linger to reply to comments like she usually did.

She'd have to work something out during the summer. Or maybe just make it up to her followers with something extra awesome.

A new triple jump perhaps?

* * *

There was a stiffness in her limbs when she slowly came to. Her shoulders were aching for some reason and she found herself laying on a cold, stone floor in a large room that was familiar to her. And she recognised the large mirror from that time she and Ron had slipped inside the room to hide. She could see her own reflection which revealed that she had been tied up with rope. Once again, her parents were stood behind her, smiling calmly and unrealistically especially given her current circumstances.

"Ah! You're awake. Good."

Prue blinked in confusion as Professor Quirrell appeared. Her first thought was that he looked horrid. Sickly, pale, and tired with dark bags under his eyes. The second thought was about him not stuttering for once. The third thing to come to mind was why the bloody hell was she bound and gagged on a floor with her professor leering over her?

"You are going to help us, little girl."

What kind of help was he thinking of? What kind of help required a little girl to be tied up? Her mind raced and her stomach did flips that made her nauseated. Prue had heard of things happening to women but she'd never considered they could happen to  _her_! Who would really dare on someone with so much publicity?

Quirrell's smirk turned into a sneer upon seeing her no doubt terrified expression. "Not like that, you foolish child! Where is the Philosopher's Stone?" he demanded, waving away the cloth that had been keeping her quiet while jabbing the tip his wand into the hollow of her throat. It burned.

"I don't even know what that is, Squirrel." Probably not the time to insult her captor but she was scared and angry and wanted out! And she wanted the hot tip of the wand to get away before it literally branded her neck.

" _She tells the truth,_ " a whispery voice announced, making the hairs on her arms raise. Prue couldn't see anyone else though, which made it worse. There was no one but she and Quirrell in the room, but another voice had spoken. That wasn't normal.

"My Lord?" Quirrell asked, eyes looking about wildly in obvious fear. And not the kind of fear that was always on his face. This was true fear for his wellbeing, and it made her fear for hers as a result.

" _Let me speak with her._ "

"But you are not yet strong enough!" protested Quirrell even as his arms came up to slowly unwrap his turban that had never made sense to her.

The man turned to reveal a pale, almost disfigured face jutting out of the back of his bald head. A face with deeply set wrinkles and cloudy, crimson eyes. There was no nose, just two slits where one should be, much like a serpent. And the mouth was thin with crooked teeth. That very face was staring her down and making her feel like she was drowning in the Black Lake at night with the cold relentlessly crawling up and down her spine.

" _Hello, Prunella Potter. It's been ten years since I last saw you. At least you aren't crying this time._ "

And that was when she knew.

Voldemort.

Her heart was pounding in her ears.

He was alive. And somehow living on the back of her DADA professor's head. But he wasn't gone like her parents had been insisting he was. They'd said he was forever gone. All these years of peace and yet he'd... never truly been destroyed. Good Merlin.

" _Your beloved Headmaster has something I want, girl. And you are going to demonstrate these supposed skills you think you have, and fetch it for me._ "

"Uh… why would I do anything for you?"

She learned very quickly that it was not the right thing to say.

Her breathing was suddenly constricted and a pressure closed painfully around her throat on all sides. No air came in, but she couldn't get the excess air from her last breath out either. She thrashed on the floor, attempting to find air again, but nothing was working and she couldn't move her arms! And all the while, Quirrell stood perfectly in place, with Voldemort's eyes narrowed on her body.

" _Because I will end your pathetic existence if you don't._ "

The crushing force disappeared, leaving her to gasp and choke, taking in as much air as she could.

" _I know how your mind operates, little girl. You care too much about yourself and not enough for anyone or anything else, so the only threat that will work on you, is death to you personally. Your parents haven't been parents to you, and obviously care more about themselves and their reputations than they do for your wellbeing, which has lead you to caring more about yourself than caring for them. And if you were to die, that would mean an end to all the money and the fame you don't deserve._ "

"You-" she glared, taking another deep breath, "-were gone because of me! Everyone says so." Literally even Dumbledore had agreed with James and Lily and he was supposed to be a genius!

Voldemort smirked though. " _Not you. You were nothing special and nothing to take note of. Your sister however…_ " he trailed off, a thoughtful look coming to his inhuman face. " _She wasn't a normal child. Unlike you she didn't whinge, and she didn't flinch when I sent the Killing Curse at her. Nor did she flinch when she ate it and then sent it back at me through her eyes that were forever changed as a result._ "

Prue's body went cold immediately. He had to be wrong.

But James and Lily had claimed Belladonna had no magic and then she came back with magic and was doing well in class. And Prue wasn't doing as well on her own though. They'd been wrong before. And they were proven wrong once again since Voldemort was in fact still alive and kicking.

A cruel, cold laugh slipped through the man's thin lips and his eyes glittered with mirth at her distress. " _I know my colours very well, little girl. The black haired one stared me down in the wake of your mother's failure. You've been coasting by on fame you don't rightly deserve. How does it feel to know that you aren't special and that your whole life has been a lie? And how does it feel to know that Dumbledore expects you - with no skills in anything but how to handle a piece of polished wood - to defeat me and encourages every one of his followers to believe the same and to put their faith in you to be the hero? How does it feel to know that you will fail and they will utterly despise you for the lies?_ "

The full magnitude of the situation finally set in and Prue flinched, cringing away from the Dark Lord in an attempt to distance herself. Even if her binds didn't let her get far, getting even an inch away was good in her book.

Dumbledore had been telling people she was going to defeat Voldemort? There were people out there expecting a child to beat a Dark Lord in some kind of duel or something? Sure, she was good at Defence but not  _that_  good! What was he thinking?!

" _So, little girl, you are going to find me the Philosopher's Stone your glorious leader has hidden in the school. And if you don't, I'll kill you slowly and painfully and make certain that no one will miss you. Though it won't be hard considering how you have no friends and your only living family doesn't even want to deal with you._ "

If Belladonna was the true Girl-Who-Lived, then that meant that the prophecy had been about her. So she would be the one to defeat Voldemort if she didn't get killed before it could happen. Meaning he would be after her so she wouldn't have the chance to kill him some day. And he'd leave Prue alone if she found the rock he wanted so much?

" _And I wouldn't dare go to Dumbledore if I were you,_ " Voldemort continued. " _It's not as if he could help you at all anyway. He already knows I'm here and has left me do as I please because he expects you to defeat me, even if he has to manipulate you into doing it._ "

And just like that, any positive feelings she may have had for Albus Dumbledore, evaporated.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[1]** **This line is a quote from Taylor Swift's song, 'I Did Something Bad'** **  
> because I felt it necessary.**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stress levels seems to be rising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Do me a favor. If you are going to read a fic that uses a common trope,  
> for the love of God, do not bring your assumptions from other fics in the  
> trope, into this new fic. Let's just say, a lot of you are getting the wrong  
> idea about certain plot points because you just assume that this story is  
> just like all other WBWL fics. And instead of using critical thinking, y'all  
> came up with whatever and have chosen to believe those assumptions  
> over what I actually have written. It is getting a bit annoying having to  
> send PMs to people because they criticized something 'in the story' that  
> hasn't actually happened in anything posted or anything written ahead.
> 
> -Hate characters for shit they do, not shit you made up. That's not OK.
> 
> -I own all the films mentioned in this chapter and I like all of them. I  
> like introducing magical characters to muggle items because it's fun to  
> write their reactions to everything. And doing this fic closer to present  
> day made that even more possible! Poor Tommy boy! XD

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Prue had a problem and it was literally a matter of life and death. And the problem came in the form of a not-so-dead Dark Lord who was possessing her crummy teacher and making her look for a rock that he needed. All the while, Dumbledore was supposedly perfectly aware that the Dark Lord was in the school and had let him do as he pleased all school year. And why? Because Dumbledore expected an untrained eleven year old girl to defeat a grown man, even though there was ample opportunity for him to handle Voldy personally!

Thing was, she didn't want to help Voldemort at all. But it wasn't like she could refuse him! If Quirrell was faking the whole year, then he had to be a lot better than he'd been letting on. And that meant that Prue was out of her depth against him. She was good at Defence but not good enough against a grown man who had a Dark Lord with years of experience at his back!

For a brief second, she had considered going to an adult. And by adult, she meant Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley was awesome and smart and could do tonnes of things at once with her magic, but…

What did Prue know about the Dark Lord known as Voldemort?

He was a fascist autocrat and a Pureblood Supremacist. He had a very set way of doing things. Him and his side despised anyone who didn't follow the same ideologies as they did. Such as not branching out of tradition, discriminating against magical creatures with sentience, and only accepting Dark magic. And the Weasleys had been wrongfully dubbed Blood Traitors years ago because they had chosen to go against the typical and stupid beliefs entrenched in the Pureblood circles. They had decided to separate themselves and actually use their heads instead of just blindly following traditions that literally made no sense especially in this day and age!

Molly Weasley was from a Pureblood family that hadn't sided with Voldemort and his minions. She then married into a family that  _also_  hadn't sided with Voldemort's Death Munchers.

So by that alone, Mrs. Weasley was already on Voldemort's hit list so to speak considering who she married and who her maiden family was. But if Prue was to bring her into the situation and expose their connection that not many people knew of, then she would personally become Voldemort's target, and that was a dangerous thing. Who was to believe that he would leave everyone else alone once Prue did as he had ordered? And if she somehow got his attention on Mrs. Weasley, then he'd probably take the chance to attack the rest of the Weasleys as well, and then their deaths would be Prue's fault.

In the end, it wouldn't be fair or safe to drag Mrs. Weasley into the situation. She and her family didn't deserve that.

Prue was alone in this and it was simply better that way.

If Voldemort wanted to believe that she cared for no one but herself, then the twat could continue to do so. It was better for  _everyone_  that he continued to believe such shite.

* * *

Deborah smiled as both Aaliyah and Bella walked through the doors of the rink, both looking ready to get some work done. Bella's hair had already been pulled back into a tight bun to keep her hair from her face, and just to be extra certain, they'd added dozens of clips just in case it fell out of its hold. She's no doubt just come from a ballet class.

Aaliyah stopped by the counter while Bella continued on toward the ice, waving in passing.

"She's ready to work on the Triple Axel today," her lover explained when Deborah's eyes lingered on Bella's determined expression. "She said she wanted to start practicing now because it  _'wouldn't hurt to get a feel for it ahead of time'_  and she's already practicing the other Triples constantly. I foresee a lot of falls today and a pained hip later on."

The child was a force to be reckoned with. She had all these ideas and plans, and Deborah wished she could have that same energy again. That she could still be competing and bonding with her group and fellow skaters. But not everyone left with grace and dignity and she had been one of them. She barely kept up with those from the past and in the age of social media, it was a bit sad.

"I hope she's ready for disappointment," Deborah sighed. "She won't be getting  _this_  on the first try. It's the most difficult jump for a reason. A extra half revolution isn't easy to get used to."

The darker woman hummed in agreement as they both watched Bella go through the motions of carefully lacing up her own skates. The ritual had become second nature by now and she understood where her comfort level was and could be trusted to know her limits in regards to her own skates.

"She grew so fast," observed Deborah, feeling old despite only knowing the girl for about six years. "I remember her first time on the ice so well and now she's out here practicing Triple jumps and Cantilevers. I'm a bit jealous; I could never get that one down myself and I always wanted to."

"I know the feeling. The flexibility is what gets me. I'm not as limber as I used to be and even at my best I struggled getting into certain positions. My arse and thighs got in the way a bit."

Yeah. Deborah remembered that very well. It used to be a point of frustration for Aaliyah all those years ago.

They were only in their early thirties and they wee already talking like old women. Though skating - or any physical sport really - did age the body considerably. Bella's endurance and ability to walk off pain and injury were a lucky thing. She was less likely to have hip or knee problems once she officially retired. Deborah could still skate but not like she used to, and she did have joint pains all over her body thanks to many a collision with the unforgiving ice. The jarring impact was always a problem and never merciful down the road. And to think, she was in synchronised skating back then, not single skating. Bella already had it a bit harder just by her chosen division.

She could only hope that things stayed on the good side for Bella. That she courted fame with a proper attitude and that the were no hiccups in her career.

"Start your figures to warm up!" Aaliyah ordered loudly, her voice echoing through the rented out building.

The girl gave them two thumbs up and hobbled on over to the ice.

"Duty calls."

They shared a quick peck before Aaliyah went to do her duty which consisted of advising a child on the best ways to jump and fall to avoid damage.

With the upcoming competition, their time at the rink was going to lengthen. It wasn't something particularly important or all that special, but it was always good to get experience and Bella needed the exposure terribly. She needed to be seen doing amazing things. She needed people to want to pay attention to her. Breaking out into the world of sports was always a struggle and every little bit added up in the end.

With a smile, Deborah moved to reorganise the skates in the back. It was a nostalgia trip every damn day.

* * *

Neville Longbottom wasn't the most outspoken boy in the world. He often didn't feel like talking and tried to avoid it if at all possible. And that wasn't because he didn't like people, he just had some issues that he knew wouldn't go away overnight even  _if_  he talked about them with someone. If he could even find someone who would listen of course.

Those issues haunting his every step came from his "family". The Longbottoms who were left were all many decades older than he was. If his parents were still sound of mind enough to be considered living people, they'd have been the only thirty-something year olds in the family. They would have bridged the gap between Neville and the rest of them and been a proper buffer. But they unfortunately couldn't do that.

He was raised by his father's mother. She wasn't very... understanding. Or nice. Or even decent. She was firmly anti-Voldemort - he shivered from just  _thinking_  of the forbidden name - and also firmly anti-Dumbledore. But she was a Light witch who was arrogant in her beliefs and simply viewed the world from an archaic standpoint that secretly annoyed Neville very much.

She refused to acknowledge that things were changing. That times were better now than they were in her youth. She didn't like that control was slipping from the older generation and that those currently in power now had different desires than her, and that those who would have the power in a few decades, would also want something different than what was commonly desired now. It was like the natural progression of time didn't make sense to her or something.

And the biggest issue Neville had with her, was how she viewed Squibs. It was a rather dark secret. No one outside their family knew it because they wanted the Light side to remain on the side of understanding for muggle-raised individuals to give them greater influence over the Dark side. No one knew that a good portion of Pureblood Light families did in fact find Squibs embarrassing and did not want them tainting their lines if they could help it.

For his entire childhood, they'd been trying to force some kind of magic out of him so they wouldn't have to deal with the shame of having a Squib in their family. The Longbottoms were one of the few who hadn't sired a Squib in their history and were proud of that fact. And during his entire childhood, he'd grown rather bitter about it. Neville loved his parents and felt terribly for their situation, but he had to wonder if they too would treat him the same way for not having explosive accidental magic like his great uncles and aunts apparently had in their childhoods. And all his Gran would talk about was how he was nothing like his father Frank and how Frank had done  _this_  and  _this_  and  _this_  by the time he'd gone off to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, Neville had been dropped off a pier and nearly drowned, only for no magic to crop up, leaving him to be rescued and then yelled at. He'd been pushed off a toy broom and broke his ankle, but still showed no magic and was forced to sit through a rant about his deficient he was as an Heir. And it took Uncle Algie dropping him out of his manor's fourth story bedroom window when he was ten in order for his magic to finally do something, which basically meant he had magically increased his physical elasticity and bounced down the lane without much injury.

Then suddenly they were proud of him. Suddenly the rest of the family were coming around and congratulating him for his ' _success_ '. Suddenly they wanted something to do with him and had opinions on his future and thought they had a right to give him advice and order him around now that he was at least good enough to be the Heir.

_Now_  Neville was worth their time. But it wasn't as he'd hoped it would be. He was only good enough of an Heir if he had magic, even though he'd shown some magical aptitude toward plants and the like his whole life, but no one supported his interests. Everyone wanted him to take on a Ministry job in the future and put him through endless comparisons between he and Frank Longbottom. That since Frank had become an Auror and had fought for the good and right in the magical world, then Neville obviously had to do the same otherwise he wouldn't live up to his father's legacy and he'd never be the Heir their family needed.

He didn't talk about his issues at home with his friends. He didn't know how to broach the subject without seeming like a whingy little baby. But he also was tired of keeping all of his opinions and emotions to himself. And he knew enough about each of his friends' personal lives that he felt it was only fair to share the truth with them. He knew enough about Zabini's mother and Nott's grandfather. And Bella's own history was literally public news and the Daily Prophet was  _still_  printing articles about it to this day. So it was about time for him to explain his own situation.

That no, Neville Longbottom wasn't actually a coward and there was a good reason for why he flinched at every sudden movement and why loud noises bothered him a lot.

It was just hard to talk about something that embarrassed you! He was embarrassed to be related to the Longbottom family and was embarrassed by how they treated him. He knew it wasn't okay. He knew he didn't deserve to be held to such ridiculously high standards. He knew it wasn't natural to put such expectations upon a child. And he was bitter over it too.

And the thing was, what would his friends do when they found out? Bella was very outspoken about what she believed and wouldn't hesitate to say what she felt. Hermione would probably try to be a little more level-headed over it. Zabini and Nott though. He was still pretty unsure about them. They'd been raised Slytherin and that made it more difficult to read them than it did for others.

How would they handle it? His fear were gnawing at his insides over it. All kinds of possibilities popped into his mind and he hated all of them.

But Neville was just tired of holding back his feelings.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Bella has had attention issues since around our third year I believe? Before then**   
**she had been very focused and determined to learn as much as she could as fast**   
**as possible. But some time around her adoption, it kind of changed a bit. Bella's**   
**not one to get headaches, but now and then she'd complain of pain behind her**   
**eyes. And the pain would also hurt her chest a bit, though she couldn't pinpoint**   
**the cause for such.**

**Aaliyah took her to the doctor and they couldn't find anything wrong with her, so**   
**no need for medication. And it wasn't a constant thing. It was just every now and**   
**then and it was enough to have her stop in order to breathe through it.**

**She never told me about a voice in her head though, and that doesn't sound good.**   
**I'd suggest telling her godfathers about it if it gets worse. Maybe they will know**   
**what to do.**

**Amara.**

* * *

It was another late night of wandering for Prue. She'd pulled out the Marauder's Map and had begun a very careful exploration of the castle beginning in the dungeons and every space available on the map. And this map was more advanced than the original so there was more detail. More to explore.

She had managed to clear through the dungeons and the first floor, and was beginning her time on the second floor. There were secret rooms everywhere in the bloody place! That meant a never-ending amount of places to hide something valuable. That meant she had to be careful while exploring.

It was a rock. She was looking for some fancy rock and judging by its level of importance in Voldemort's eyes, it had to be unique, so surely it would look unique too.

All while doing this, Prue had to carefully avoid every ghost, professor, prefect, and walk carefully past the sleeping portraiture in order to not get caught. Things were a lot more difficult without the Invisibility Cloak. She was beginning to regret losing it. Then again she'd been too busy focusing on Quidditch to pay attention to her surroundings all that much.

It was either her job that she was contractually bound to and could get in big trouble magically for not following the requirements, or some old family heirloom that technically wasn't hers in the first place since she wasn't the eldest child.

A lot of the school was just empty classrooms. She had to wonder why there were so many vacant rooms filled with desks and chairs. It was almost as if Hogwarts had offered more classes a long time ago but no longer did. Why not keep the same classes if that was the case? She could think of things she'd rather be taught than History of Magic. Especially if the only history they learned was about Goblins. If the teacher wasn't going to do his bloody job and all that it entailed, why should the students care about his class?

Prue sighed and glanced at her watch. It was nine past three in the morning. She'd been searching for the fancy rock for five hours already and had managed to clear through half the floor in the meantime. Another night of no sleep was ahead of her. She was going to have the biggest tension headache come the morning, just like every day for the past week.

Great.

While wandering, it did occur to her that maybe she should tell her Head of House about her problem. McGonagall was kind of terrifying if one ignored the fact that she turned into a cat. But... the woman had a history of not listening to students who had problems. No one in Gryffindor ever went to her for anything and Prue had learned that it was because she assumed they were either lying if they were a student with poor grades, or over-exaggerating if they were a student with good grades. Bad grades made you untrustworthy and good grades meant you should be able to handle the problem yourself or whatever. So they couldn't rely on her for anything really.

Some did choose to go to Professor Sprout, but Prue didn't know her all that well and would she really be able to help? Her skills lay with Herbology, and plants wouldn't hold against the Dark Tosser. The most they'd do is squirt odd liquids at him that he would no doubt be able to dodge or block.

Snape was out of the question. He hated James Potter, which wasn't shocking since he wasn't exactly the greatest of people and picked on others when he was a teen, Snape included. Snape simply shoved whatever he thought about James onto Prue and Prue wasn't taking it. He singled her out in class, asked questions most of his students wouldn't know, and was generally a horrible teacher. She didn't even know why he was allowed to teach. But because Prue wouldn't let him walk all over her, she was ' _problematic_ '.

A grown man bullying a little girl because he hated her father wasn't cool. No matter what transpired between them, she viewed him as the worse person because his age and experience should tell him his attitude wasn't right. Prue didn't act the same with her other teachers as she did with Snape because he annoyed her the most and didn't earn her respect at all.

As for Flitwick... she couldn't see him as much of a threat to a Dark Lord. He was too nice and happy.

Basically Prue was as alone as alone could get.

* * *

"Professor Snape, I have a few questions for you."

He blinked at the first year in front of him having not expected her willing presence in his office. Ever. She never got into trouble so he'd never had to make her come by for a secret punishment. And her schedule was passed along via Prefect Farley. "Sit."

Belladonna Potter did so without complaint and laid a tan folder on his cherry-wood desk. "I've been dong some studying. Since I won't be competitive forever and will no doubt have a longer lifespan thanks to being a witch, I've been considering my career after figure skating and came upon some interesting information. Are you aware that Squibs actually have magic and simply cannot use it because they don't have the circulatory system for it?"

It had been years since this particular bit of information had been brought up to him. He couldn't even remember the last person to mention it, but he was very much aware of it. "That is a topic eleven year olds wouldn't really think to explore, Ms. Potter."

"Good thing I'm not like most eleven year olds, sir." She held up a piece of notebook paper, lined as usual. "I've listed all the books I've checked on this particular subject and haven't found much information if truth be told. I was a bit appalled by that fact, and even more so by the fact that  _no one_  has considered making a way for Squibs to access their magic."

The look on her face told him enough. She was feeling how he often felt when surrounded by the general populace. That everyone around her was a dunderhead and not worth her time.

"Human beings are inherently selfish creatures," Severus stated blandly. "They think not of things outside their own scope of life and tend to ignore the minorities. And Squibs fall into such a distinction."

"Since the stupidity in the beliefs revolving around Squibs seems incapable of being fixed any time soon, I have decided to look into a way of giving Squibs the magical channels necessary so they too can perform magic. If Squibs can be literal Seers, it should be possible to make a way for them to use the magic inside them. But I need opinions and Remus suggested you since you know about Potions and Spell Creation so much."

This sort of an undertaking would not be an easy one. It was the type to require in depth research and would most likely take years to accomplish. But the girl looked determined with her dark but thin brows drawn together as her eyes unnatural green eyes narrowed.

"I would assume Runes would be involved," he began, knowing this would not be their last conversation on the topic at hand.

* * *

"Your sister is looking rough."

Bella looked up from where she was cutting into her sausage, to where Blaise was pointing a perfectly manicured hand across the Hall. Prunella was seated at the Gryffindor Table, but she was more hunched over than she'd ever been and was looking like she hadn't slept in days. Her red hair that was usually done in a plait, was left down and made a mess about her head. The bags under her eyes were dark and unattractive and her face appeared very gaunt from a distance. It was like watching a horror film.

"Wonder what's up," she commented as she reached for her tea. "She's usually more energetic and while she doesn't seem to care much about looking girly like Brown and Patil, she does put  _some_  effort into her appearance every day."

Yes, Bella took note of what her twin was up to. She didn't necessarily care because it never really affected her life at all thanks to them being in separate Houses, but after the trial, Prue had been a lot more quiet. She still spent time with only Ron Weasley since she seemed unnerved by those only wanting to befriend her for money, and still got points taken off for being obnoxious, but she'd really mellowed out in recent weeks. Meaning she didn't go outside a lot and was generally a ghost even when present.

"She looks nervous," observed Theo with a frown. "Like she's waiting for something bad to happen. Something more pressing is on her mind than her appearance to the outside world which would usually be kept clean because of her reputation as a celebrity."

Bella honestly did not care about Prue's life. She couldn't find it in herself to want anything to do with the other girl and was perfectly fine with never speaking to her ever. Still… she was just an eleven year old girl whose entire life was shaken up severely. She'd lost both parents, even if it was only going to be for a little while, and was pretty much alone.

Maybe Bella could be nice and bring her and Blaise's observations to Remus. He seemed like the type who would listen to someone's woes. And with how petty Sirius was being about the whole Potter situation and not really keeping the girl on a schedule, Remus was the better person to go to anyway.

She was starting to really care for her godfathers, but even Bella could see their flaws. Remus was a little too meek and was easy to walk over if one knew what pressure points to use. Sirius was still pretty immature despite apparently growing up a lot since his school days. And his plan to just leave Prunella to her own devices wasn't the best overall plan for anyone. It was kind of like the other adults who were laying additional blame of James and Lily's actions, at Prunella's feet and treating her horribly. It was a destructive mindset and wasn't doing anyone any favours, least of all an impressionable child who would need all the help she could get to distance herself from the reputation her parents had built up and shattered.

If Prunella was to become a decent person she would need to be taught how to properly act. And Remus had been very helpful in preparing Bella for when she joined the magical community. So he would obviously be the best person to go to about this situation.

Bella still didn't care about Prue, but she  _did_  care about the way she'd been treated and how unfair it was to not hold the adults accountable for their actions. She  _did_  care that something was causing a child to stress out so much especially in a place where she should be safe. And Bella  _did_  care about Sirius possibly getting so swallowed up by his anger and pettiness towards the Potters that he avoided doing the very job he'd agreed to when he decided to blood adopt them as his own daughters.

So to Remus she would go and hope they could finally do something for their charge.

* * *

Remus blinked in shock. Bella stopping by during her free period to have a talk with him about her sister, wasn't something he'd considered ever happening. Both girls showed no interest in the other after all so it wasn't difficult to assume the topic wouldn't come up.

But Bella insisted that there was something wrong with Prunella. That she was looking ill and obviously did nothing to fix the situation, so he and Sirius should probably pull her aside to find out what was wrong.

To be perfectly honest, he hadn't noticed anything about her, but that was more because he was gone most of the day to bar tend as a seedy pub down in Knockturn Alley. It was under the table so he was allowed to work without papers or Ministry approval. He wasn't always around to see the students.

Sirius however, was.

And the first years had one Flying class a week. Didn't matter if they were good with brooms or not, they still had to take the class for their entire first year at Hogwarts. Sirius hadn't even taken note of anything different and they never talked about Prunella. In fact, it was easy to forget that Sirius currently held custody of her because they were going to be at Hogwarts for the majority of the time frame she'd be with them.

"I'll look into it," he promised.

It was the least he could do.

* * *

"So wizards celebrate Valentine's Day too?"

Blaise nodded. "It's become a favourite in the past decade. But I think it's more about money than love if we're being honest. Romance isn't as high on the goals for one's life as it used to be these days."

At Bella's confused look, Blaise set aside his book on  **Potions Theory**  in preparation for an enlightening conversation. And he noticed how everyone else had stopped what they were doing in order to pay attention as well. That fed into his ego a bit since he liked when people listened to what he had to say.

"In our community, we have come to understand much about magic, even if we don't know everything just yet. Certain colours have magical properties, like certain numbers do. And love is a powerful source of magic and not something you should joke about. So a holiday centered around love and where shades of red, pink, and white are often used, draw upon superstitions."

Theo nodded. "And businesses are very much aware of these superstitions and capitalise on them by using these colours more frequently in their themed merchandise. Think of it, certain potions require flower petals. The colour of the flower in question can determine the strength of the potion. And Runes can gain or lose power depending on the colour of the item they are drawn with, and the colour of the item they are drawn on. Most people like to use black as it is neutral and will not magically affect something. And merchandise around this time will be more expensive because of colours used and potions will have notes such as _'made with red petals'_  to emphasise importance of said potion."

Both Bella and Hermione shared a look of confusion.

"Non-magicals just raise the price because people expect to see certain colours on Valentine's Day," Hermione remarked. "Most people just roll with the fact that prices go up around those special holidays and that getting something in pink when it usually doesn't come that way, is a privilege."

Blaise shrugged. "My mum is very interested in money and the handling of money and she pays attention to  _everything_. A bit more than other Purebloods do actually. So I had to learn all of this from a very young age so I did not fall for the scams used but could, if I so desired in the near future, scam others with those same superstitions."

Theo snorted. "If your mum didn't have you, all she'd care about is money."

"That's a horrible thing to say!"Hermione blustered, looking offended upon Blaise's behalf, which he found to be incredibly generous of her considering their friendship was still relatively fresh and they didn't know much about each other yet.

However she seemed unaware of his family's… reputation and it would be unfair to let that ignorance continue. "Don't feel bad, Granger. Theodore's right. Mum has so far had six wealthy husbands and a wife, who have mysteriously died and left their wealth to her. Zabini happens to be her maiden House and she has never taken another's name and refuses to."

Theo was snickering as the girls gaped and Neville's face went pink.  _He_  obviously knew of Blaise's family, but he obviously didn't put much thought into it before. But now it was right in his face!

"Mum doesn't necessarily care about much in life, which is the truth. She knew she needed a child to continue her family's line, but she also knew that the Zabinis had fallen out of favour in the past century and were nearing destitution as well as extinction. So she found a method to regain our prior standing and we are once again in the top ten most wealthy families in Magical Britain. The issue left is passing on the line."

"Wow," said Bella. "I'm a cross between concerned and impressed at the level of dedication."

Granger had an odd look on her face. "Does she… does she, you know. I mean- I don't want to presume of course. But it sounds like she, you know… does stuff," Hermione sputtered, trying to ask what everyone always wanted to but never had the fortitude to just come out and say it.

It was endlessly amusing and Theo had devolved to light cackling in response! Blaise elbowed him in the side so he could control himself before Pince came around causing trouble. She's snap at any chance to get rid of children. Honestly, she was just as unpleasant as Snape. Probably more so.

"The fact is, mum has special talents that she puts to good use. And a lot of people find themselves in debt with her in some way. How she decides to have that debt paid, is determined on whether or not she marries again. She's very cunning and knows how to divide her time wisely to get what she wants. I hope to be as savvy as she is one day."

She was a remarkable woman who had done what she could to give him a good life without hassle. Well… without  _much_  hassle. They were firmly on the Dark side as Dark Wizards, but other than the prejudice from that, and being a Slytherin family, things were pretty okay.

"Mum made certain that the husband she got with in order to have me was a second branch Pureblood because she knew it would be easier on me if I too was a Pureblood. Even on the Light side, Purebloods are still treated better. Rarely do Halfbloods and Muggleborns gain positions of leadership in the Ministry, or own popular businesses. The prejudices of the Pureblood society would benefit me if I too was a Pureblood, she realised. So she made certain I was conceived with a Pureblood who wasn't expected to further his own family line, and once I was born, she made certain to cease all possibility of another pregnancy. One Heir was fine in her eyes and she doesn't care if her significant others are Pure or not. It's usually the money she's interested in.

"So in all honesty, Theodore was not wrong in his assessment of my mother's character."

Shocked silence met his words. From all of them. He didn't necessarily reveal that part of his origins to people, but he felt like they'd keep it to themselves. Bella and Hermione wouldn't care enough to go blabbing, and Longbottom wasn't the type to reveal other's secrets. As for Theodore, they'd been friends for years already and knew things about each other they hadn't shared with another soul before now.

Blaise and his mother didn't care about blood purity. His mum liked gold and went after anyone who had a lot of gold and jewels. Simple. Blaise was taught to look at a person and what they could offer him the most. And then he'd have to determine if they were worth the effort. Blood looked the same once shed and it being ' _pure_ ' meant nothing save for a bit of an easier life currently. But that could change at any time in the future.

Especially if both Bella and Hermione were planning to work toward the acceptance of muggle-raised individuals in their society. And if Granger really wanted to be Minister, it would take a lot of effort that he could definitely see her putting in.

"So did your mum follow Voldy?"

Bella's inappropriate question had everyone else gaping in horror because people just did not talk about the Dark Lord. And on the side, she'd called him Voldy! The audacity that he would never have!

"No, she was too busy scouring the globe for potential suitors and those to make indebted to her."

Bella huffed, looking put out. "And here I was, hoping to get a genuine reason as to why  _anyone_  would bow before anyone."

Theodore shook his head with a snort. "Trust me, the reasons are pretty stupid and make no sense. You're better off not knowing."

* * *

"How are you feeling, Prunella?"

Said girl was completely confused over why Lupin would want to talk to her all of a sudden. Neither he nor his husband had made an effort before and she couldn't see a reason for it to happen now.

"Fine," she answered blandly. She was  _not_  fine but it didn't really matter if she told anyone or not. Who'd believe that their precious Girl-Who-Lived could actually suffer problems? James and Lily had pushed this idea that she was unaffected by common troubles and that meant Prue couldn't let people see her struggle. The people wanted a hero to aspire to be, so James told her she had to put forth a certain attitude.

She wasn't doing the best job recently since she couldn't get her hands on everything she usually used before her parents were locked up, but she was trying. Lily usually did that kind of shopping and just passed things on to her when she came back. That obviously hadn't happened lately.

"Is school fun?"

Lupin was so awkward. And that made  _her_  feel awkward. So they were just stuck in his and Black's quarters, being awkward together.

The desire just go drown in the Black Lake was strong. Or maybe just let Quirrellmort kill her to just end it all.

No more stress in death. Death didn't seem as terrifying when she actually gave it thought.

"School's fine," she said stiffly.

"That's good," Lupin replied, somehow making everything ten times more awkward than they were before.

The sudden banging of the door against the wall, had Prue jumping in her seat and her heart choking her with how its beat had picked up to an inhuman pace. Both she and Lupin turned to see Black standing in the doorway, and both were able to see his excited expression go blank instantly.

Yeah. There was no reason for her to linger any longer. Black obviously hated her and Lupin had made it clear years ago that he'd choose Black and his beliefs first. Better to not make them have to choose again.

"I have to go do my Charms homework now." It was a lie! She'd already done it. Hated it, but had gotten it done.

Prue was down the corridor in seconds. At least dinner was close. That meant bread.

* * *

**Amara,**

**Sorry about the abrupt letter. It's just unnerving when Bella gets like that.**   
**We don't normally get through to her much. It happened for the first time**   
**after Halloween and then twice before Christmas and once after the New**   
**Year. She'll just sit there and stare off into space, her mind in places none**   
**of us can imagine.**

**She has sworn that she's fine though, but it's not like someone who's so**   
**driven normally, to lose the ability to focus on things! Theodore thinks she**   
**is too stressed and that's why this happens. Neville thinks she may have**   
**some undiscovered illness. Blaise believe the Potters did something to her**   
**in retaliation. I simply don't know what to believe.**

**She has mentioned the chest pain. It happens with the voice in her head,**   
**whenever it's acting up, usually when she has to read apparently, she'll**   
**start feeling strange pains in her chest. She says they happen a lot more**   
**now than they ever had before. She thinks she's allergic to a teacher here**   
**because it gets worse whenever he's around.**

**Her Kneazle Aoife doesn't like him all that much either and that makes me**   
**concerned because I read that Kneazles are good judges of character. Can**   
**a Kneazle make a mistake in terms of judging people and their intentions?**   
**Professor Quirrell doesn't seem like a bad person. He's a bit too twitchy to**   
**take seriously.**

**Sorry to the sudden deviation in our usual conversation.**

**Hermione.**

* * *

"Ron, you look like shite."

The redhead didn't even rise to her words. But that was just proof of how horrible he must have felt because he was a very hot headed boy and would always have something to say. But the bags under his eyes had been growing a lot and he was always tired recently. He ate slower when in the Great Hall and tended to not laugh as much when Seamus blew up the water he kept trying to turn into rum.

"You're not looking any better, mate."

Well he wasn't wrong. Ever since the whole being kidnapped by Voldemort and threatened with death every bloody day afterward, she'd been very aware of everything around her. The smallest of noises had her jumping and she found it difficult to sleep knowing that Voldemort was in the castle and that no one seemed to know about it save for the guy in charge and that he felt no need to put an end to it! What if Voldy hurt someone before Dumbledore could intervene? Then what would the venerated Headmaster do?

And her mind was always on the revelation of Belladonna being the real Girl-Who-Lived and no one but she and Voldemort knew. And the thing was, being the GWL was great because it came with benefits. But at the same time, all the things she'd been told about her great power and skills had all been wrong, because she wasn't the GWL. She was told she must amazing power and potential to have destroyed the greatest Dark Lord in history. She had  _not_  been told that he was still alive and that she'd have to defeat him some day because Dumbledore wanted her to and was telling his friends about it!

So there had just been a lot of stress on her shoulders lately since Voldemort wanted this Philosopher's Stone thing as quickly as possible and at random times during the day, she'd suddenly be incapable of breathing and would feel horrible pain in her joints, and she knew that he was behind it. He was doing it as a reminder for her to hurry up with her search. He was on a limited schedule it seemed and she wasn't moving fast enough. It had been nearly two weeks already!

"I've been sneaking out at night," Ron revealed quietly as he stared into the flames of the hearth in the Common Room. "I've been going to see that mirror because it's so addicting."

"You could have gotten caught!" She wouldn't have thought of that as a big deal before the new year had rolled in, but after finding out that Voldemort was out there prowling around and ready to just kill whenever he felt like it, having Ron wandering around was not good! It was very bad! What if Voldy got it in his head that their friendship was more than he thought and decided to use their friendship as leverage?

There was a cold feeling in her belly at the thought of Voldemort/Quirrell getting their hands on Ron. He wasn't like Prue. Prue could take a physical beating thanks to tolerance built up in Quidditch. She could heal quickly from massive injuries and never had to go to St. Mungo's because broken bones healed so fast. She was used to getting hurt because of her career. It was a requirement if she wanted to join the adults and not be a burden or so James had told her all those years ago. She had to get used to pain and had to experience it early on to understand where she stood. Ron was soft and a bit squishy and no way made for rough-housing yet. She shuddered to think about what would happen if Quirrellmort turned his wand on the redhead.

It didn't matter if Prue got hurt. She'd just start healing immediately. Ron didn't have that luxury.

"I don't care about that," Ron huffed. His eyes were glowing in the light of the flames, and held a sort of focus that was unnatural for him. He was utterly transfixed but she was certain it wasn't the fire he was truly looking at. "I just wanted to see the mirror again. But Dumbledore found me last night and explained that it's a cursed mirror because it shows people what their heart desires the most, and traps then in some kind of trance. And people have wasted away staring at it because they see what they want more than anything and forget reality. They always die because the obsession grows too strong.

"He said he was going to move it to the third floor corridor so no one could come into contact with it again. You know, 'cause the dog would warn anyway away from going deeper than they should. Yeah, he knew about us finding the dog too. He knows about a lot of stuff actually, and told me to tell you to be careful when  _you_  explore at night too because not even Hogwarts is perfectly safe all the time."

Prue's eyes went wide and pieces started slotting into place. And that last bit was all the confirmation she needed that Dumbledore did know fully what was going on and had decided to do nothing about it. And he was even subtly encouraging her to continue breaking the school's rules because it probably fulfilled some twisted idea he had in mind in the long run. And she was annoyed even more.

Aside from that, more had been revealed in that explanation, than Ron realised.

On her birthday, she and James had gone to Diagon Alley and met Quirrell while leaving Olivander's. They then saw Hagrid at the bank, and went down in the cart with him, and saw him remove an item from vault 713. That same day the bank was robbed for the same item Hagrid removed upon Dumbledore's instruction. And then suddenly the third floor corridor on the right hand side was out of bounds for the first time ever. And they found a three headed dog in said corridor, standing on a trap door. And Quirrell had revealed that Voldemort was on the back of his head and was looking for some item that Dumbledore had. And now Dumbledore was putting a fancy mirror that traps people with visions of what they want most when they look at it, in the third floor, right-hand side corridor where the dog and the trap door resided.

It all made sense!

The item Dumbledore had was the Philosopher's Stone! She didn't know what it was, but that would explain what was going on! Quirrell had tried to rob the bank but had failed, so he came to Hogwarts and was searching for whatever the fancy rock was because it was important to him and his master.

The Stone was being protected in the third floor corridor and the dog and mirror were part of warning people away from it!

She had to find Quirrellmort!

* * *

Tom had been sitting at the table every since the very first contact he'd had with Belladonna Potter. He'd kept his eyes trained on the manifestation of the Diary while also taking notes in one of the many blank books before him. This was how he centered his thoughts and how he kept up with the new information after going so long in silence.

Things he knew about the current world has been recorded immediately because how else was he to assimilate if he didn't know every piece of the puzzle?

He was in a new century. Specifically, it was now 2012. His real self would be eighty-five years old. And judging by how Belladonna had not known there was a connection between Lord Voldemort and Tom Riddle, he was certain his other self did not use his given name any longer. Which had to mean he succeeded somewhat. Hopefully. It could also mean that his real self died and Tom was all that was left. He severely hoped that wasn't the case.

But in all their conversations, Belladonna had never mentioned Lord Voldemort anywhere. There was nothing. And by how she described some practices of the current age, it seemed like nothing had actually changed in Britain either. None of those grand plans of his seemed to have come to fruition so he was disappointed.

She'd talked about her biological parents. James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter née Evans. And her twin sister they had abandoned her for, Prunella Alula Potter. Prunella who was famous on the magical side for something and that fame had gone to the Potter's heads. They had grown to care more for fame and fortune than anything else, and had fallen apart at the seams.

Belladonna was abandoned because a Light family thought she was a Squib. But she ended up with powerful magic and received an invitation to Hogwarts. And the Potters had been flailing because the girl have been adopted from a London orphanage and had made a life for herself without them. She had connected to magic without them and now  _everyone_  knew of their actions.

And furthermore, Belladonna wasn't very interested in magical things yet. She had some questions here and there, but she was so focused on her current career that she didn't plan to devote much time to anything else until she was finished with competitions. Her words. Although recently she'd begun talking about Squibs and ways to help them use their magic, so perhaps she was looking into becoming a Healer?

Belladonna had to train physically in multiple ways every day. From her descriptions, she was probably going to be physically stronger than he was in a few years, which was a fascinating thought. And she could certainly run better than he. Tom had always been a sprinter but not to an impressive degree. Bella did long distance running every other day and claimed to adore it. She ran the bloody Quidditch Pitch at Hogwarts just to keep in shape.

The girl cared so much about what she wanted, which was very impressive for an eleven year old, that she brushed off comments from her fellow Housemates about it.

Yes, she was a Slytherin. A Halfblood born of a Light family, and sorted into Slytherin. Certainly, she did not have many friends as a whole because of where she lived, whom she was unfortunately blood related to, and what House she had been sorted into. All of these things had unfortunately been stacked against her despite her not even knowing about magic more than a year ago.

Not that she seemed to care about House prejudices.

When she'd been targeted by an older Slytherin who didn't like her choice to remain connected to her muggle fame and career, she'd handled the situation expeditiously and had earned herself some respect among her peers.  _'A fifteen year old boy got his arse handed to him by an adorable little girl'_  or so Belladonna told him. He had felt a little pride when she told him the that.

Another thing Tom knew was that his magic had absolutely no effect on the child. He'd tried to latch onto her soul and magic, but it was like oil and water. Forever colliding and slipping alongside one another but never quite mixing together. This meant he couldn't possess her and because she left the Diary at her muggle house and never brought it to Hogwarts, he was literally stuck with no way out.

He'd tried on multiple occasions to create some kind of link between them, but it was like something rebuffed him every time he tried. And it was that odd feeling whenever Belladonna got near to him. Like she was familiar despite being a whole different person.

This wasn't how the Diary was intended to work. The book he'd studied said that there were chances for the Horcruxes themselves to return to life on their own so long as they absorbed the magic and soul of another individual. And that person had to be magical themselves as well for it to truly work. But it didn't work on Belladonna for some reason and it made no sense!

What was different about her compared to anyone else?

Tom had never been fond of children, even when he himself was one. He could never tolerate their attitudes and the ways their minds worked and couldn't understand why they didn't function at the same capacity as he did. And for the most part, Belladonna  _was_  a child.

She used what he recognised to be modern slang, quite often. She often smashed words together to avoid writing them all out, claiming ' _laziness_ '. She had moments where she blabbered on and on about skating and chocolate and some film called  **Red Riding Hood** , which was a revisiting of the old muggle version of the original tale. She claimed a character looked like her godfather but wasn't as ' _cool_ '. And she liked it despite it not fitting into her definition of ' _horror_ '.

Yes, muggles now created films that were  _meant_  to scare the viewers. He'd never heard something so preposterous in his life, but then Belladonna went to great lengths to write out the summaries of several films she liked.

There was  **Child's Play**  which was about a serial killer using a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into a doll before he died of serious injury. And to make it worse there is a time limit for him to free himself from the doll before the transfer becomes permanent. Which requires more voodoo rituals. There were many films after that to make a series.

Another favourite was  **Pitch Black**. It was a science fiction-horror film set in a very distant future where space travel is a casual thing. Because in the time he'd been in the Diary, muggles had already _landed on Earth's moon and even Mars_. So a ship for space-travel transporting a hardened criminal who wasn't quite human but not quite supernatural, crashes on an unknown planet with 3 suns just in time for the rare eclipse where they all align behind the singular moon and cast the world into darkness. And it just so happens that the planet is home to strange, vampire-dinosaur creatures that burn in sunlight, can drain living creatures of their essence in seconds, and rely upon echolocation to move around. And the surviving people of the crash must make it out alive in which few do and the criminal ends up being an important character.

The film was only the first part of a series.

The final film she had talked about was  **Tomie** , which  _also_  part of a series that wasn't necessarily connected. And that was because the character of Tomie had the ability to regenerate and ends up coming back to life constantly to wreak havoc upon those she deliberately drove to madness. And each time she is dismembered, no matter how small the dismemberment, an entirely new body will grow from the bit cut off. To the point where there are multiple Tomie of different minds and opinions walking around. And each film is from a different Tomie's perspective.

Belladonna had a fascination with supernatural-based fictional horror it seemed. She ' _liked things that scared her in a controlled environment_ ' as she had explained to him one day.

Did normal eleven year old girls like these kinds of things? Did eleven year old boys even like these kinds of things? Did children often want to watch horror? Tom remembered the children in the orphanage being utter cowards but even  _he_  wouldn't willingly go searching for grotesque images thanks to his experience with the bombings of London. Perhaps muggle children had truly changed over the years. What would  _cause_  children these days to look upon horrific scenes with amusement? What had possibly desensitised children to violence and horror? Those questions had him concerned.

But back to Belladonna just being a child. While she certainly had moments of childish behaviour, there was something more to how she interacted with others. And he wasn't annoyed whenever he spoke with her, like he usually would be with people. Even adults could be ignorant and intolerable he'd come to learn. But Bella simply felt... a lot like himself despite being so different.

And he couldn't shake that feeling of her being familiar to him despite them never meeting before she got her hands on his Diary.

* * *

"It has to be that fancy mirror," Prue blurted out the moment she was alone with Quirrellmort again, in his office this time. "Dumbledore moved the fancy mirror below the dog's room and the mirror is supposed to trap people who look at it. So it's got to be the mirror that has the Stone thing. You'd be too distracted by whatever you see and would waste away."

She didn't even see Quirrell move, but a second later she was bound and gagged again. The man's sallow face, which had thinned out considerably over the course of the school year, enough for his cheekbones to be prominent, looked determined. "I suppose we'll have to go and fetch it then, shall we?" That wasn't good.

The castle was quiet and suspiciously empty as they traveled, with Prue levitating behind the professor/Dark Lord duo. She didn't even hear the dog bark when they walked through the door because the sound of a harp filled the room. And what followed could only be described as snuffling as the three heads drooled all over its crossed paws.

As she had noted formerly, the trapdoor was still there and was opened with a swish of Quirrell's wand. They descended quickly, following a long and dark corridor where Quirrell tsked now and then. They seemed to keep going down further and further until they reached a small chamber with only one entrance. And directly in the center was the mirror she'd mentioned.

She was deposited in front of the mirror none too gently, the magical rope falling away upon Quirrell's order to, "Retrieve the Stone."

She rolled onto her knees and looked at her reflection. Her clothes were wrinkled, her hair had fallen out of its hasty plait and was sticking out in random directions which wasn't new. Glasses askew which were righted immediately. And yet she saw nothing else save for the same scene as before. Her parents were stood behind her, simply smiling and looking far more friendly with each other than they ever had before.

The mirror was supposed to show the heart desired the most, but all she saw was herself with her parents. It made no sense. They were very much alive and not exactly the greatest of people so why was she seeing them at all?

But she needed to find the Stone otherwise Voldemort/Quirrell was going to kill her! She was too young to die just yet and hadn't even gotten to play for the International Quidditch League yet! She'd trained for so many years, having to deal with James' harsh teachings in order to get skilled enough to fulfill their dream. She couldn't die yet! Maybe after her first game on an international scale but she'd determined that now was just a little too soon.

She  _needed_  the fancy stone.

All at once, something heavy dropped into her left pocket and she flinched, reaching down to pull out what ended up being a large ruby that was too big for her to close her hand around. It was like there was a flame living inside of it too and it was mesmerising in a way.

The thing in her hand was the Philosopher's Stone judging by how quickly Quirrell was to snatch it from her and cradle it close. The man paced back and forth, murmuring into the stone and not paying her any mind while his eyes were closed in what appeared to be some odd prayer. The words weren't English and she was certain they were magical.

Prue saw the opportunity for what it was and quietly got to her feet and began slipped backwards toward where the only way out was. She could probably run faster than Quirrell and a moving target was always said to be harder to capture than a stationary one. She didn't always pay attention to James' lessons, but that one he'd used a Quidditch analogy for so she would remember it more easily. And the further away she was when she decided to run, the harder it would be to catch up.

She was just at the first step when Quirrell whirled around, eyes narrowed. "And where do you think you're going, girl?"

"You got your fancy rock," she said, feeling braver than she had several minutes ago. "I'm leaving." Her confidence was more fake than Quirrell's stutter though.

The high-pitched laughter that she knew could have only come from Voldemort, filled the room and echoed off the stone walls. The sound made her ears ache. The turban vanished and bright red eyes gazed at her through the reflection in the mirror. " _Did you honestly think I would allow you to leave, child? You, who have spent the last decade basking in the fame given to you because of your sister's actions? I will not rest until I see every one of the Potters dead. And I will be starting with you._ "

He wouldn't let her go. He'd planned to kill her anyway. Maybe she should have gone to someone after all?

Prue wasn't even given a chance to turn to run for it. Quirrell's arm made a swift, upward diagonal slash in the air and a large, white light followed the movement. She barely turned just a enough to avoid what would have probably lobbed her own head off, though the resulting injury was no better.

A severe, burning pain exploded across her torso and her body lost as the strength necessary to stand. A rain-shower of red covered the stone floor of the chamber and Prue could  _feel_  the blood spreading beneath her body and soaking her clothes. It was strangely warm compared to the freezing stone.

Meanwhile, as she struggled to breathe and think of a way out - which was really hard through the haze of new pain she'd never felt the likes of before - Quirrellmort started screaming together in what sounded like shared frustration. Honestly, their anger scared her more than her bleeding out in a dark room far below the school. She wasn't dead  _yet_  after all and who knew what they'd do before she took her last breath.

Maybe if she tried to move she'd bleed out and die before they could do anything else.

She would have preferred the Killing Curse. A less scary end.

* * *

Bella had never seen Aoife act so strangely before. Even when she was having secret meetings in front of Quirrell's door. But the feline had taken a mouthful of her skirt and was attempting to drag her through the corridors toward something.

She got the idea quick enough and eventually was allowed to run on her own. She found herself being lead toward the third floor and when Aoife finally stopped and began to creep along the corridor to peer around the corner, Bella realised why the feline was panicking.

However, there wasn't much Bella could do on her own. She was decent in most classes, but didn't have any knowledge of battle related magic. And what would she be able to do against Quirrell? Even if he was pathetic, he was still older than she was and had more experience with magic than she did. She was just a child after all.

The nearest person she could think of would be Snape. His office was the only one she was familiar with and Sirius' was too far upstairs. Running down was easier than running up.

"Aoife, we need to get to Batman," she whispered.

The feline bobbed her head and scampered back the way they came. Bella was able to outstrip said feline quickly because she knew where to go this time, had better endurance, and was almost as fast as Aoife naturally.

Bursting into Snape's office, Bella yelled the first thing that came to mind.

"Quirrell kidnapped Potter! And he's taking her somewhere on the third floor!"

It took only a few seconds for Snape to grasp what she'd said, before he was up and out of his seat as quick as a flash. "Go to your godfathers and do not look back until you are with them. Do not go anywhere without them!"

He was gone then, his robes still billowing effortlessly as he hurried away.

Bella could only hope that she'd managed to be of any help. She might not feel the need to ever speak with Prunella, but she didn't wish nefarious things on the girl. And yes, it was obviously nefarious if Quirrell had to bind her to get it done!

And to think, she wouldn't have known about anything if it hadn't been for Aoife. Aoife, who had been distrustful of the Defence Professor the entire school year.

"Guess we know your dislike of Quirrell wasn't unfounded now. I'm buying you all the treats, I swear to God."

The feline purred.

"Let's go find Remus."

* * *

Prunella Alula Potter was a spoiled brat. She was arrogant and lazy to an extent. She cared not for classwork or her elders. Didn't put forth much effort outside of practical work. She aggravated the hell out of him! But Severus wasn't going to wish death and torture on the girl. He'd known that Quirrell was questionable and that Dumbledore was aware to an extent. The man had been the one to order him to follow the other's movements closely so of course he knew some of what was going on!

And now the rat had taken the Girl-Who-Lived down to where the Philosopher's Stone was being held. The very thing that could grant him either everlasting life or untold riches.

He'd only just reached Fluffy's chamber when an unearthly scream of fury shook the whole room. The dog was startled awake instantly, all three heads looking around wildly for the source. But Severus was looking down at the open trap door where the sound had originated from.

An amorphous cloud of black smoke erupted from the hole, passing through his body and chilling every bit if him it touched. A whispery scream rang in his ears and even had the mutt shirking away against the far wall. The amount of Dark Magic in the strange haze was enough to tell him that it had been the Dark Lord. In the school.

With Prunella Potter.

And with that in mind, he wasn't expecting to find the girl alive. Voldemort was relentless. Dark and twisted and had not a care for anyone but himself. Surely he wouldn't allow the girl that thwarted him so long ago to live. Mercy was not in his nature no matter how much he liked to claim it was.

Severus rushed down the secret corridor under the trapdoor and found something that was in both parts relieving and terrifying.

The girl wasn't dead. Yet.

That second ability of hers. That Healing. It had saved her life just barely. Off to the side, Quirrell's body lay in a crumpled heap and was literally smoking but Severus didn't care for him.

**Sectumsempra**  had been used and the girl was bleeding out on the stone floor of the chamber, the wound spreading from right shoulder to left hip, just barely missing her neck. She was choking and crying and while Severus had seen some terrible things in his life, be they at the hands of his father, his former Lord, or himself, nothing had ever made him feel more violently ill than seeing an eleven year old girl on the verge of death. And it wasn't even a peaceful one.

Forever grateful for his idea to make a counter for the curse, Severus took quick action, moving his wand back and forth over the wound and murmuring the spell that would reverse the effects of the curse. It took powerful, focused magic, and in depth concentration that would have even Pomfrey impressed. And they were both lucky he'd managed to refrain from casting that day in particular to have enough magic to perform said healing.

The girl would make it, but sometimes mental scars would last longer and leave more pain than physical ones.

* * *

Remus didn't have an emotional attachment to Prunella any longer, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried for her health. And when Bella had come rushing into Sirius' rooms blabbering about how Quirrell had attacked Prunella and Severus had gone to handle the situation, he'd felt his heart leap into his throat.

Half an hour later, and they were all stood in the Hospital Wing, where Prunella had been brought by the dour Potions professor.

Severus was enumerating the amount of damage the girl had suffered at Quirrell's wand, and explaining that he had fixed what he saw. Her Healing factor had been a great service to her that night. No one had ever survived that curse at such close range before, as Severus had intended them not to when he'd created it.

Dumbledore appeared not too long after, and set to asking the girl questions. And all the while, she stared down at the white blankets of the cot she'd been given. Her clothes had been ruined beyond repair, stained a reddish brown from the blood that was drying quickly. She'd been forced into a pair of striped pyjamas courtesy of Madam Pomfrey and had to drink a Blood Replenisher before anything else happened.

"It was Voldemort."

The sound of his name had nearly all of them sucking in sharp breaths. Everyone but Dumbledore that was. Even after a decade his name was still something no one ever said or wanted to hear.

"He wanted the stone thing and threatened to kill me if I didn't get it."

"Why did you not go to a teacher, dear girl?" Dumbledore asked, looking sorrowful.

That got a scoff and a sneer that had her finally looking up and straight into Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. "Who am I gonna go to? I haven't seen Black or Lupin my whole life and I've got no proof that I can trust them. It's really obvious that Black doesn't like me. Snape hates me for whatever stupid reason involving James and has done nothing but try to make my life hell in class. McGonagall is never around and ignores all the students when they go to her with problems. And according to Voldy himself,  _you_  were fucking aware that he was here the whole time and just let him do whatever he wanted because you want me to kill him or some such tripe.

"You knew he was alive this whole time but let the information spread through the public that he was dead while simultaneously telling your buddies that he was still around and that I'm going to defeat him again some day, but never told  _me_  any of this! So please tell me, dear Headmaster, how I can put my trust into anyone in this hell hole?"

Remus didn't have many things in life he regretted. But he did feel guilt now.

She wasn't wrong. Sirius had declared James and Lily anathema and by extension, Prunella as well, and Remus had followed his discretion, finding it the best possible action. But neither of them had stopped to consider Prunella's life. Maybe if they had remained in contact, they'd have been able to influence her growth as an individual. Maybe she wouldn't be as... disconcerting as she was to them.

They'd been remiss and still were in the present. She could tell that Sirius didn't like her and that wasn't good.

And even with custody of her currently, Sirius hadn't really given her any kind of attention. He'd made no effort to lay ground rules. Had taken no time to speak with the girl even. He closed off whenever she came around. Remus had a few conversations with her here and there, but they'd been stilted.

And now he knew why.

On another note, Albus knew Voldemort was in the castle all year and did nothing about it?!

* * *

Prue was infuriated. Frustrated. Many other words that didn't come to mind. But she was feeling a lot of hot and heavy emotions and none of them were pleasant. They made her feel ill actually.

Between bitterness at Dumbledore and the staff, to anger at Voldemort for ruining everything, and then other things that just meshed together to create a ball of emotions that made no sense, Prue was done. Just done.

And on top of that, she wasn't even the Girl Who Lived, so Dumbledore was expecting her to do something grand and amazing still, and she wasn't even destined to do it! And she couldn't even tell anyone!

If she just walked up to Belladonna and said, _'Voldy says **you're**  the GWL but he still wants to kill us all anyway'_ the girl would probably look at her like she was mental. She'd then accuse her of being a liar no doubt. And since they'd never spoken before, there was no reason for Prue to go up to her in the first place. It would look shifty. Like some attempt at passing off the duty onto an innocent or something now that she got a  _real_  taste of the danger involved in being a Dark Lord's number one enemy.

Yet at the same time, if Prue kept the information to herself, and then everyone found out later on that she knew and said nothing about it, she'd be blamed for not being honest. And they'd take it the wrong and way and not even bother to understand her side of the story because that was how stupid people were in general, as they had proven so well since the school year had begun and James and Lily's actions were revealed to the public.

Damned if she spoke and damned if she didn't.

At least the stone wasn't the real one or so Dumbledore claimed. That was like the only good thing in this situation.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the catastrophe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Apparently, telling people not to judge something new just 'cause it  
> uses a common theme like others before it, is bullying. Who knew I  
> was such a horrible person for not wanting you to ruin something for  
> yourselves.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Oh where did the days go wrong? Where in his life did he make such a mistake that would lead to the predicament he found himself currently in? He could think of several small instances over the course of his long life where maybe his decisions hadn't been the best and had lead up to this time. He could imagine terrible things being born of those situations that he either turned a blind eye to, or didn't delve into. And perhaps those had all built up over the years in order to specifically blow up in his face.

He truly didn't believe that Voldemort would manage to cause any actual damage in the castle. He was so weak that his possession of Quirrell had been failing and he was killing unicorns in order to maintain the strength necessary to complete his search for the Stone. Quirrell was physically ill for weeks leading up to the fiasco and it was obvious that there would be no convalescence for him in the long run.

The Stone had had been fake the whole time. Albus had sent the original back to Nicolas the very first day of the new term because he'd wanted it to remain out of evil hands and intentions. He'd put all of those protections up to lure Voldemort out into the open and to see just how far gone he was. And to see what Prunella Potter would do against the man she would destroy one day. He needed to get a feel for her temperament and character so he would know how to handle her in the future.

He never considered that Voldemort would single out Prunella and force her to do his bidding. And the child had felt so alone and distrustful of everyone that she didn't even think anyone would be able to help her. Obviously her parents couldn't be there, but she seemed to not respect them anyway so it was no great loss. She didn't know her godfathers either, because both had avoided her due to some childish anger held against her parents. And none of the professors had made her feel welcome enough to trust them with her safety. Minerva and Severus were especially guilty of this and even Albus knew it though he didn't outwardly pay it recognition.

And now he had Tom's prophesied vanquisher further from his influence than she'd ever been. Angry at him for his deliberate inaction, and angry at everyone else for her nearly dying. And she was tight-lipped about the entire ordeal and refused to go into detail about it all.

This wasn't how anything was supposed to happen. This wasn't what he'd been planning for during the past ten years.

The best Albus could do to salvage the situation was to tell everyone that Quirrell had been an undercover supporter of Voldemort and had attacked Prunella with intent to do harm on behalf of his fallen master. His recovered body showed he'd been severely burned thanks to the jinx Albus had placed on the fake Stone. Those injuries could be blamed on Prunella and he planned to explain that she had used accidental magic, which wasn't all that unheard of for an untrained magical child. The press would have a fun time with that story.

He only wished that things could have gone over differently so Prunella would be more willing to accept her role in life.

* * *

** ASSAULT at HOGWARTS? **

**Dear readers, the DMLE has recently retrieved the body of one Quirinus Quirrell,**   
**former Defence Professor, from Hogwarts school. The body had been charred**   
**almost beyond recognition and the reason will have your jaws on the floor!**

**According to Headmaster Dumbledore, the professor had been a follower of You**   
**Know Who, and had only taken a job at Hogwarts in order to get closer to our**   
**dear Girl Who Lived. Once he felt his position was secure, he kidnapped the girl**   
**and tortured her. However, in a stroke of luck, her accidental magic acted out**   
**and set him aflame.**

**Prunella Potter suffered one major injury to the chest which, according to the**   
**school matron, spanned from right shoulder to left hip. Her Twice-Blessed ability**   
**to heal was what saved her in time for Professor Severus Snape, Britain's most**   
**talented Potions Master, to come along and perform emergency medical care.**   
**She is expected to make a full recovery.**

**I must say it's a shame that we still have followers of You Know Who, those who**   
**are marked and those who aren't, feeling safe enough that they would do such**   
**things to a child.**

**At least Prunella Potter has managed to vanquish this foe just like she did his**   
**fallen master.**

**Wishing her a speedy convalescence,**

**Rita Skeeter.**   
_**Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet.** _

* * *

Prue was being stared at no matter where she turned. And usually that wasn't surprising considering how famous she was and ow often people either wanted attention, money, or something else that she might have. She'd gotten used to being stared at and even really liked it when she was much younger and didn't understand how invasive some people could get.

This was not like that. Everyone knew Quirrell had attacked her in the name of Voldemort. No one was told that Voldemort was still walking around, doing whatever the hell he wanted and no one could stop him. Dumbledore had literally decided to keep the world in the dark still about it and all the adults had literally decided to let it happen. They didn't try to tell the true story. Something about not causing mass panic among the populace especially with people like Fudge in office who liked to ignore anything serious that happened.

A hand pressed to her chest, where the injury Quirrellmort had given her, once resided. In those moments where everything seemed to slow down considerably and the world was filled with such strange clarity, she'd literally thought she'd die. She'd even tried hastening the process before her attacker could possibly do something worse to her.

She'd never considered death before. It was something that happened to everyone but she never stopped to think of herself dying before because there was no need to. Did anyone ever really consider what death was and meant? Prue was not religious. Lily had grown up Catholic but had decided to leave that behind because while magicals accepted different religions, the common people centered their lives in polytheism. Prue was not among them because she was young, didn't necessarily care about how she came to be, and was focused on other, much more important matters.

In what she thought were her last moments, Prue had for the first time wondered what happened after death. And she'd actually prayed that it wouldn't be something horrible. The level of desperation had been high in those last moments.

There were still strange feelings along her torso. Sometimes she'd feel an odd stinging sensation across her chest and would have to stop and check to make sure that she wasn't bleeding again. She never was, but the thought of it happening again was unpleasant. She remembered not feeling anything in the first few seconds and then it suddenly hitting her all at once. It could happen again for all she knew!

Blood was also a new... dislike. She'd gotten injured before. James had taken training very seriously. She'd bled many times from many places, but never had anything nearly killed her. And the feeling of laying in her own blood was awkward as it became tacky while drying and stuck to her clothes. Said clothes had been ruined beyond repair because dried blood was difficult to wash out even  _with_  magic. The smell had made her nauseated.

Prue also might have had a reaction of sorts to another student who was bald like Quirrell had been. If she never saw another bald person, it would be too soon.

* * *

Aaliyah clapped for the child that had just left the ice. Twelve year old Sandra Lewis. She was going to be some direct competition for Bella when they both entered the Juniors. Bella would have to watch out because Sandra had managed a Triple Toe Loop and her landing had been very clean. She had strong ankles which was good, and was very skilled at transitions.

This had her thinking. They'd been working a lot this past year, on Bella's presentation. While jumps were certainly important, they were only half a program's components. They did not focus as much on jumps lately because Bella had been advised to fix her footwork and improve presentation. Her jumps were fine for the moment and she had her Doubles lined up and ready to use, and had two Triples also. She was fine in that respect.

Sandra Lewis however, was mostly focusing on her presentation and less on her jumps, sticking to Singles and Doubles mostly, save for that new Triple she'd added to her list. Sandra's mother was her coach and she was a very skilled single skater in her day. Alejandra Lewis was a Grand Prix Final four time silver medalist who had choreographed her own routines back in the 80s and 90s. She would obviously pay more attention to presentation because it was the dancing on the ice in simple terms. And it was her forte.

Aaliyah had recorded the child's routine so that she and Bella could go over the details of it later and break down the girl's strengths and weaknesses. Already, Aaliyah could tell she was a decent jumper for the lower level jumps, but she had a slight hesitation when going for the Triple. As if she didn't have enough faith in herself to see it through. That was important to take note of and Aaliyah needed to make certain that Bella understood how important it was when studying you competition.

The crowd was applauding. Save for a fall or a touch down on the ice, general audiences wouldn't see mistakes. To them it was all amazing because figure skaters were doing things normal people didn't learn. It was like watching gymnastics or ballet. Not everyone could do these things and they were always a point of fascination for the viewers.

Bella was called to the ice a moment later, and Aaliyah accepted her skate guards without a word.

"Can I swap out the Double Loop for a Triple?" was all the girl asked as she twisted from side to side.

"If you feel you can, then go ahead. Make sure you pay attention to where you are at in the rink. You've been having attention issues with focusing on both what you are doing and where you are, and we wouldn't want you to hit the boards."

"Kay," the child nodded and pushed off as her named was called and the crowd applauded.

Aaliyah moved the camera so she could get a good recording of the routine for Bella's YouTube channel. On this day, she was going to surprise her viewers with two Triples in a program and a layback Ina Bauer **[1]**. She'd been practically buzzing all week about it and was finally getting to show what she'd been working on recently.

* * *

**Prue,**

**I read the paper and saw what happened at the school! I'm so sorry that this has**   
**happened to you, dear. But I am ever so proud of how you handled the situation**   
**and I don't want you blaming yourself for anything! He was an awful man and he**   
**deserved what he got. You are just a child, Prue. No adult should take advantage**   
**of you, ever, in any way.**

**I sent along a box of sweets to get your mind off of everything. They're also a gift**   
**for doing so well in your training for Quidditch. Don't overwork yourself, and please**   
**remember to have fun. You are only eleven and there will be time int he future to**   
**become a working machine.**

**With love,**   
**Mrs. Weasley.**

* * *

Neville sighed, earning himself a concerned look from Zabini.

"Are you well?" the other boy asked, making Neville flush a bit.

"Just thinking about home and what's going to happen during the summer while I'm stuck there." And how often she was going to be pulled away from the greenhouse to hear another rant.

"You don't need to stress yourself over that now. Right now you should focus on school and friends, and let your shi- family remain unimportant for now."

The boy's hastily covered up insult was enough to make Neville crack a smile. They  _were_  pretty shite for people.

"I'm just not looking forward to all the rants about me being too near a Squib to be a worthy Heir."

" _Excuse me_?" Bella demanded suddenly, looking up from her essay. And she wasn't the only one. The other two who had been more focused on their own homework, also looked up. Hermione was looking particularly horrified and Nott didn't look all that shocked actually.

Feeling self-conscious, but knowing this was as good a chance as any to reveal what had been bothering him for so long, Neville gave in. "The Longbottoms are very anti-Squib and they spent my entire childhood reminding me how terrible of an Heir I was and how I'll never be anything like my father because of it."

The ensuing conversation was... enlightening and relaxing and uplifting all at once.

"Even  _if_  you were a Squib, you are still important to the world," Hermione had told him. "You deserve happiness and your family are in the wrong in every way, Neville."

"Squibs are not a lesser sort. They are still children of magical people. They can produce magical children with magicals and muggles. They can't access their magic, that's all," Bella had added, her frustration obviously growing.

"I don't think any child should be mistreated just because they don't fit their family's ridiculous expectations," Nott murmured while refusing to meet Neville's gaze. He looked very serious though, and Neville had a feeling his opinion came from a more personal experience.

"Your family are arseholes," was Blaise's blatant response.

He should never have doubted his friends.

* * *

"What is your opinion on Prunella?"

Bella posed this question in the middle of a study session, where Fred and George Weasley had stopped by to tease them a bit and promise retribution for the pink hair episode. And she'd found it to be the perfect opportunity to inquire about their experience with her sister. Since Prunella was best friends with their little brother, it only made sense that they would know her pretty well. A lot better than any of her fans would, that was for certain. Most people didn't have much to say other than she defeated Voldemort so that was good enough.

The twin redheads both looked at one another, before pulling up two chairs and plopping down at the table. The group of first years set aside their work to give them their undivided attention.

George was the first to speak. "She's okay. She could be a lot worse, like Malfoy, so we don't really have much to complain about in regards to her attitude."

"Yeah.  _Sometimes_  she acts like the littlest Malfoy, but she's really nowhere near as bad. It's the entitlement that makes them so similar, but that's about as far as their similarities go," Fred explained. "She isn't a Pureblood Supremacist for one thing, nor is she specist which makes her radically different than him and his family. They wouldn't be caught dead befriending a Blood Traitor family or Hagrid."

George nodded. "She visits Hagrid now and then and thinks anti-creature legislation is stupid. She's in support of muggleborns and thinks it's stupid to deny them a place among our community especially since they have magic. She also thinks their families deserve to be introduced to our world too. She's very forthright with her opinions because she doesn't care what people think. Being the GWL gives her an advantage over others and most are too starstruck to argue with her opinions."

That honestly didn't sound so bad. "I have taken note of her greed. How bad would you say it is?"

"Pretty bad," both answered at once and without hesitation.

"But," Fred continued, "she isn't obvious about it. Sure, she gets the newest model of everything, but she doesn't walk around bragging that she got all the most recent brooms or toys. We all can see that she does, but she doesn't draw attention to it in a way that means she mocking our poverty. In fact, when she gets something new, she gives whatever the previous model was, to Ron. In her words,  _'might as well put it to use since I won't need it anymore'_. And when Ron gets something new, the older stuff becomes usable for the collective household."

George was nodding. "Prue tends to spend more time at our house especially in recent years. And mum never questions it, but we've heard her tell Ron her parents were fighting again. They'd fight over the oddest and most inconsequential things. You'd think a family so well-loved by everyone would be happy about how great of a life they seem to have."

Fred nodded sharply, the look on his face imploring them to listen. "Once Prue came over with her hair cut incredibly terribly and when mum offered to even it out, she said no thanks. Turns out her mum didn't like her hair getting too long and decided to just cut it one day. Her dad walked in while it was happening and started yelling about her making decisions without his input and that Prue could keep her hair long if she wanted to. With her hair already half gone, Prue grabbed the shears and hacked the rest off up to the ears and resembled a Weasley for a while. She left, and they didn't even notice because they were just so busy arguing, and came over. Ever since then, Prue has kept her hair unevenly cut to spite them. That's why it sticks out everywhere even when she plaits it, because some pieces are a lot longer than others, and they don't dare argue with her, just with each other. The public thinks she's being edgy and we don't feel like correcting them. The truth isn't so great and she doesn't need that kind of attention on her right now."

"In short, the Burrow is basically a home away from home for Prue."

That was really sad.

"Mum doesn't  _mind_  having an extra mouth to feed, but we all know we're poor. And Mr. and Mrs. Potter never asked if she could stay over or anything. She'll just come over and stay for days at a time. But to make up for it, Prue tends to stash Galleons all over the house. We all pretend we don't know she's doing it, but where else would several dozen Galleons just appear from while mum is cleaning or we're de-gnoming the garden?"

Okay, that was actually sweet. So Prue was using the Weasleys as an escape of sorts and because neither she nor her parents ever asked if she could, she was paying for her right to stay over.

That was sad. Why the hell couldn't James and Lily at least reared the child they kept properly? Why was Prue having to treat the Weasley abode like some kind of hotel? And paying for her keep on her own? That was ten levels of messed up. She was a minor and it wasn't her job to do any of that!

"It's a bit annoying that she can just do that, but at the same time she's doing it on the sly so it doesn't look like handouts. So we can't really be angry. Besides, her doing that was what allowed Ron to get his own wand this year. It would have been a hand-me-down like usual but there was enough to get him his own wand and he was super excited over it. Ginny got new robes too."

"Basically," said George, "she could be a lot worse considering how poorly her parents did at raising her. She's not racist, sexist, fascist, specist, ageist, homophobic, xenophobic, or a Pureblood Supremacist. She's just spoiled and singularly driven by her own goals for herself. She has tunnel vision and doesn't consider anything outside it which is understandable because we get like that about our own chosen career. And she is only an eleven year old girl. We can't expect great strides in maturity yet when she's barely experienced the world outside her small corner of it, and her parents did a smashing job at keeping her isolated."

Okay. She really didn't seem all that bad of an individual. Not being utter rubbish in human form was certainly earning her several points in Bella's mind. And literally paying the Weasleys to do what her parents should be doing, earned a bit more sympathy after the whole near death experience.

"I cannot be the only person who detests James and Lily Potter, right?" Hermione asked out of the blue, shocking all of them. "They are horrible people and have ruined their own daughter's childhood with their selfishness."

They all ended up nodding their heads. Even the twins.

"You're not alone," the twins agreed.

With a clearer idea of the kind of person Prunella was, Bella had a bit of a brighter outlook on what it'd take to get her to calm down and rejoin the normal humans again. Though it all did make her wonder if there was any hope for Prue at all. Could eleven years even be broken down and fixed?

* * *

"You're looking a bit down, kiddo."

There weren't many times over the past few years where Aaliyah had seen Belladonna sad. She was in fact, very content with her life and never complained about things being unfair, or other children having more than her, or even usual things like sweets or friends or even television. She didn't whinge for thousands of toys. She just did as she was told and worked toward her goals. In fact, she was a bit too focused on her goals and tended to forget other things in life.

Going to Hogwarts actually forced her to interact with more people on a day to day basis. While doing online school at home for the past few years had been a great advantage for her training, it also left her out of the loop. She didn't experience things other kids did and ended up having one friend for a few years. At Hogwarts she lived with the other students and regularly conversed with other children all the time now. She played pranks, told stories, and spent time with her group in the library.

Things had gotten a lot better since she'd opened up a bit more. But she had come home for Easter _(even though they didn't personally celebrate it, it was nice to get a few free days of time)_  and had looked completely downtrodden.

"You don't think adults are infallible, right?" the girl eventually asked after a few moments of complete silence.

"Certainly not. Everyone is flawed, Bella. No matter what some may want you to think, nobody is perfect and nobody could ever attain such a standard no matter how much we may want to. What happened?"

"Voldemort was at school."

Surely her ears were deceiving her? Did her adopted daughter just tell her that the man who attacked her family when she was a baby, had been at Hogwarts? And she had not been informed about it at all? What the hell?

"He'd been possessing Professor Quirrell all year. Quirrell was just acting like a dunce, he wasn't really stupid like we all thought. He kidnapped and threatened Prunella because he wanted something that was supposed to give him his own body again, and then tried to kill her once she helped him. She nearly died from the curse he used, and only our shared Healing ability saved her from bleeding out before B-Man got there in time. I'm the one who told him that Quirrell had her in the first place.

"And when she was in the Hospital Wing, she kinda wigged out. Dumbledore dared to ask why she didn't get a teacher when he knew all along that Voldemort was there, and Voldemort told Prunella that he'd been allowed to do as he pleased because Dumbledore wants Prunella to fulfill the prophecy. She feels like she can't trust anyone and she's especially bitter over Sirius and Remus because they did nothing for her growing up. Not even a card on her birthday. In her mind she doesn't think of them as family or even worth her attention because they never cared about her and have been very poor guardians these past few months."

That was a lot to unpack in such a small explanation.

A mass murderer had been inside the school the entire school year and Albus Dumbledore had allowed him to walk around as he pleased for whatever reason involving the prophecy that had Voldemort attacking Bella's birth family all those years ago. And Bella's sister had been kidnapped and forced to work for him at the threat of death. But he still tried to kill her anyway even after she helped him.

Prunella had only lived because of the Healing she and Bella were born with.

Even Aaliyah hadn't truly considered Sirius and Remus' actions. She'd seen them as cutting ties with James and Lily for their illegal and immoral actions, but when she considered it from Prunella's perspective, she'd been abandoned too. And Sirius was legally her father by blood and he didn't do his duty by her like he had agreed to back in the year 2000. Even if it was just to have another home to go to should she ever need it, he didn't do his job and it was now glaringly obvious to her.

So in essence, Sirius was also partially to blame to Prunella's attitude. He could have done something. Anything actually. Endless opportunities to lead her away from her ridiculous parents' influence. Chances to simply give her a place where she felt welcomed. If that had happened, the girl wouldn't have felt all alone and incapable of seeking assistance in her time of need.

"I see where you're coming from, kiddo. It was a dick move to not do right by their other goddaughter. There is no excuse for their inaction. But you also need to realise that this is only a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes but they do not define who we are as individuals. It's disappointing what they failed to do, and you and Prunella both have a right to angry over their actions, but they are still inherently decent people. It was a miscalculation with disastrous effects for Prunella, but it isn't something that can't be fixed."

"Thing is, I think only Remus actually wants to fix it. And he's technically not our godfather or father. Sirius is stubborn and doesn't seem to see anything wrong with his attitude. How do you get someone to change when they obviously don't want to? How do you make someone see how they are in the wrong?"

It was a question without a true answer. The best she could think of… "You need to make them  _want_  to change. I don't know how you'll do it, but the first step is always realising that you  _need_  to change. Sometimes that's the hardest step of all."

Bella heaved a sigh. "I'm angry that this all boils down to the Potters. If they had just done their jobs as parents, or at least went through things legally, none of this would be a problem! I found out that they apparently spent her childhood yelling at each other over every little thing and Prunella spent her days at the Weasley home to avoid them. Why did any of this have to happen? They're so bloody incompetent and shouldn't have been allowed to procreate. I'm calling it as it is."

Aaliyah was of a similar mindset though she was certainly glad to have met Bella. At least the complete tits would be in prison until December. "There is time to influence Prunella. She's been living with those two idiots for so long that she's grown used to either them pandering to her every whim, or them fighting all the time. Perhaps she needs a better example. Perhaps you or one of your friends could be that example."

* * *

"We have so many exams to prepare for! And I don't even think I'll manage to do that well in History of Magic. It is rather tedious and memorising so many different Goblins names if difficult!"

Their entire group merely stared at her, and Hermione flushed a pretty shade of pink. She would know. Her mother had told once. "Just because I do well on a consistent basis doesn't mean that I do not have my own insecurities in regards to my studies. Goblin names are especially difficult since so many of them are similar in the romanised versions. Rangok, Ragnok, Ragnarok, Rhobrak, Rhabrok, and so on and so forth! And I cannot believe there is this much history specifically involved with the Goblins! We haven't even learned about the magical culture on the human side yet!"

Bella snorted. "I can't believe that after so many wars and assassination attempts on both sides, wizards decided to make them our bankers."

"It was a sign of peace and trust," explained Theodore. "Trusting them with our wealth says a lot about them and us. We know the Goblins are a warrior race and do not appreciate theft and dishonesty. If they were to backstab us, it would be considered a petty form of theft and would disgrace them. And whichever Branch of Gringotts that committed such an atrocity, would be ridiculed among its peers in their Nation and banished from the community as well as the work force."

So technically it was a smart move because wizards had chosen to use their own pride against them in order to keep them relatively in line. "And because the Ministry allows them to handle those who break their rules, they are somewhat compensated in the end."

The Slytherin boys nodded.

"Well, even if there are many cogs in the machine of Great Britain's magical history, I still find the subject tedious. And it is the only one I actually do not like. I can only imagine what the exam is going to look like!" That part had Bella groaning in frustration.

And as Hermione considered it more, she was right back to worrying with the other four rolling their eyes as they flipped through their review homework.

But Hermione had reasons for needing to have the best grades. She needed to prove herself and prove to the Pureblood Supremacists and even her own Housemates, that she deserved to go to Hogwarts. That she belonged. That she wasn't simply there to win them a few measly points every day all so they could treat her like she didn't exist! Hermione was going to make something of herself and one day those very people ignoring her were going to regret it.

Hermione didn't like to draw attention to her problems in her own House because they honestly weren't that big of a deal when she was spending more time away from her own Housemates. But she did face some kind of odd discrimination from them and she didn't understand why. Ravenclaws weren't the ones who embraced the Pureblood ideology or so she'd been lead to believe. So why was she treated so poorly? It made no sense!

Okay, that was a bit of a lie. She knew they were generally jealous. Hermione was new to magic entirely but she had a photographic memory that benefited her immensely. Still, they felt it unfair that someone like her would be good at magic and get perfect scores in every class, when she was the newest to magic in her House.

So they ignored her, or sent her dirty looks. Honestly, if Bella hadn't insisted on still talking to her and eventually dragging her to their study sessions, and introducing her to Amara, Hermione would probably be completely friendless still and have no one to talk to or sit with.

It was difficult to give consistently perfect academic scores when she was so stressed. So it made sense for her to worry so much.

She gave up a future at Cambridge for Hogwarts and needed to prove that it wasn't a waste of money or time. That with magic she could manage far more in life than she had ever dreamed of before.

* * *

**So it's time to begin studying for our exams. Hermione is going spare.**

_Ah, I do not pity you. They were always a hassle when I was in school and I_   
_can imagine all the new information gathered since the 40s. Those exams'll_   
_be more difficult than the ones I had to sit, I'm certain._

**Yeah, it sucks. Hermione keeps making us go over these reviews that**   
**she made, and it feels more like I'm just memorising things. I will not**   
**remember any of this stuff come summer and I'm not sure that's a bad**   
**thing. I mean, like, not knowing stuff for next year would be bad but I**   
**don't like it to begin with so it's kinda good at the same time.**

It was an unfortunate truth. But it just felt like was soaking up the information at an alarming rate, and it was going to slowly drip out over time. She didn't feel any sort of connection to half fo her classes, like History, Charms, Herbology, and Astronomy.

_The first week back each new term is a review. You'll be heavily reminded in_   
_one way or another in the future of what you may have forgotten. Fear not._

Oh great.

**Hurrah! That was sarcasm btw. I'm not actually happy about it.**

_What is 'btw'?_

**btw is By The Way.**

**This reminds me! I'm going to have to give you a lesson on abbreviations!**   
**There's no way you're going to be able to handle talking to me in the future**   
**if I pick up more internet lingo at some point.**

She couldn't let Tom go on not comprehending everything she was saying. It was a miracle he got some of the slang she used on a day to day basis. Bella would educate him thoroughly and then they'd both be up to date.

_Do you absolutely have to?_

**Yeah. Common Abbreviations:**

**tbh - To Be Honest**

**lmfao - Laughing My Fucking Arse Off**

**rofl - Rolling On the Floor Laughing**

**stfu - Shut the Fuck Up**

**yolo - You Only Live Once**

**smh - Shaking My Head**

**ikr - I Know Right?**

**ilysm - I Love You So Much**

**nvm - Never Mind**

**ofc - Of Course/Of Fucking Course**

**k - Okay**

**lol - Laugh Out Loud**

**gg - Good Game**

**There are many more but for the most part, those are the ones used all the**   
**time. That might change in the future.**

_Lovely. Thank you for the quick lesson, dear Bella._

She snickered at the thought of getting Tom to use modern slang. He would eventually pick it up if she continued using it all the time and remain the only person he could talk to. The thought of Tom using lmfao made her cackle! It was a plan!

**I live to help, mate!**

* * *

"Try not to stay out too late after you win. It is still a school night and you do have assignments to finish," said Remus as Prunella hoisted her bag over her shoulder so it was easier to carry. The redhead hummed though he had a feeling she really wanted to roll her eyes. At least she seemed to respect him enough to not blatantly disrespect him to his face.

And he couldn't blame her for it if she actually chose to do it either. Viewing he and Sirius as authority figures was going to be difficult because they'd never been such things in her life heretofore. In her mind, complete strangers had come along, exposed her parents' actions, and were acting like that had a right to her time and energy when they'd done nothing for her before. It was a glaring problem that he hated having shoved in his face every day he saw her after the incident with Voldemort and her nearly dying.

And Sirius still refused to see the truth. Remus has tried to say something about it. Tried to insist that they take part in Prunella's life now that they could. His husband merely shrugged and said she'd be going back to her parents by the end of the year so there was ' _no point in them doing anything for her_ '. It was disappointing.

"If you absolutely  _must_  have alcohol, please just make it a Butterbeer. I know I can't control your consumption when you are with your team, but it would be healthier for you in the long run to not try anything else."

The girl huffed. "Alcohol doesn't interest me."

"Oh." He felt very awkward. "Well… don't let your teammates pressure you into anything even in the name of your eventual victory."

"It's actually really hard to pressure me into doing anything without a death threat, don't worry."

Oh.

He literally knew nothing about her as an individual and honestly needed to send a letter to Molly Weasley to get a better idea of what to do. She kept surprising him and it was probably because James had been addicted to Quidditch in his youth too, always bragging about going professional and everything. And he was also very much into breaking the law and drinking when he'd been forbidden from it, and trying illegal substances when told not to. So Remus kept assuming that Prunella would be exactly the same.

And she wasn't.

"Have fun at least."

"Will do."

Prunella grabbed a handful of black powder from the pot on the mantel and threw it into the flames. They turned a bright green.

"Falmouth Falcon Pitch, United Kingdom, South Entrance!"

She stepped forward and was gone within a second.

Remus let out heaving sigh. How bloody awkward!

* * *

Hearing that the Chudley Cannons won their second match was like a punch to the gut for Falcons fans.

See, the Cannons faced off against the Ballycastle Bats in their first game. They won for the first time since the 90s, which was impressive enough. But the Falmouth Falcons were less refined than the Bats and were a good deal more rude. They also had a record for penalties and fouls. So winning against them was always impressive since they fought dirty and didn't care what anyone thought about it.

The standings in the League had been the Cannons beating the Bats. The Falcons beating the Banchory Bangers. Puddlemere United burying the Caerphilly Catapults relentlessly as they didn't get to score a single point. The Wimbourne Wasps owning the Appleby Arrows. The Holyhead Harpies narrowly beating the Montrose Magpies in a 210/200 match. The Kenmare Kestrels beating the Wigtown Wanderers. And then the Tutshill Tornados obtaining victory over Pride of Portree.

The Cannons had to face off against the Falcons for their second game, and they'd won. They had literally come out even stronger than their former game and had killed it.

Prunella Potter had set another record, scoring more points in her second ever official Quidditch game. The Cannons were at the top of the League with a considerable point different between them and the second place team, which were the Wasps. And if the Wasps defeated Puddlemere in their upcoming game in the next two weeks, then the Cannons would go against them in the near future for the honour of playing the Championship.

It was all carefully scheduled and Prunella was looking forward to it because the Wasps were of the best teams in the League. They'd had a star-studded line up for years and hadn't lost a game in nearly a decade. Prue wanted so terribly to be the one to ruin their winning streak because it would go down in history.

Once the Cannons won that game against the Wasps in the third round, they'd go up against whoever came in first between the winners of the Harpies Vs Kestrels and the winners of the Harpies or Kestrels Vs Tornados. And that would be the Championships. The Tornados got a BYE in the second round and would automatically get to play the victor of the Harpies Vs Kestrels game. The winner of that game would be her teams' true competition this season.

This particular game saw the Cannons once again winning despite not catching the Snitch themselves. The Falcons had played very well and turned out a solid 400 points. The Cannons, courtesy mostly of Prue, churned out 920 points. And ¾ of that amount was scored by Prue. Another record under her belt since it all happened in the space of two and a half hours.

After the match, Prue lingered with her team at a local pub. She'd been allowed in because of her status as the Girl-Who-Lived, but was told that she was not allowed to order any alcohol, not that she cared. It smelled horrible and was said to dehydrate consumers, so it was immediately dull to her.

Also, she'd been getting pats on the back all evening and people were congratulating her on her hard work. Many things could be said about Prue, but no one could say she didn't take her job seriously. Ever since James had forced her ride a broom all those years ago, Quidditch was all she lived for. She ate, slept, and breathed Quidditch.

If she had to be good at something, at least it was Quidditch and she could make a living off it.

* * *

"Something that will indeed be on your exam, is a break down of the different cutting spells you should know and how they can be applied outside of what they were originally intended for. These spells were not created to be used defensively, but can be beneficial in a fight, so you must discern the exact usefulness of each spell on your exam and explain your reasoning soundly," said Remus as he gestured to the projector behind him.

As he was only a volunteer, the Ministry could not do anything about him filling in for the post of DADA. He wasn't allowed to have a paying job that was over the table and if he was volunteering, then he wasn't being paid and the Ministry couldn't do a bloody thing about it. Snape, who was a legend as a Potioneer, was providing his Wolfsbane every month, so the Board of Govornors couldn't argue Remus' placement. And the children's grade had literally risen since he'd begun helping them.

He was such a better teacher than Quirrell! It didn't matter if Quirrell was pretending to be horrible the whole year, he'd literally been the worst right next to Binns. He'd deliberately taught them all poorly. Now if only they could somehow get Binns to go away so they could get someone for that class as well. And then everything would be fine!

Bella was actually taking notes in DADA recently. She usually didn't because Quirrell had been dull. In fact, she'd do homework because she found it a better way to spend her time than wasting it on listening to some sniveling goose ramble on and on. And in the end it would benefit her as well so why not spend her time wisely?

Their entire year had to catch up to where they were supposed to be in the curriculum and Remus had been doing a smashing job of teaching them what they needed to know. He also did a lot of practical work in class, which was where both Bella and Prunella shined the most. They took to Defence very well and never seemed to struggle with anything.

She wasn't certain why it was such a good class for Prunella, but for Bella it was the lack of reading having to be done. And now, since Remus had taken over, he was better at explaining theory and that meant she didn't have to read as much to understand what he was saying! It was fantastic! And he didn't have a bloody, overly fake stutter!

Also, Bella had a lot of magic and casting was easier because of that. Control would come with practice but they weren't expected to have perfect control yet. Control would become a larger requirement from third year and up, according to Remus. So for now it was simply being able to cast the spells at all as the requirement, and knowing what they were for.

She could only hope that Remus could come back the following year and volunteer then as well. Who could possibly replace him? And maybe one day he'd be able to apply for a job as a teacher, because he was certainly doing a good job of it.

* * *

When Lucius Malfoy stepped into his library that morning, it was with the intent upon studying up on some old laws that were still in place. He'd wanted to arm himself with knowledge before he moved to do anything rash, just in case he made a miscalculation somewhere in the plot he'd written out. And rarely would he ever, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He was a Slytherin for a reason.

As always, Lucius' eyes would fall upon a particular bookshelf because on it was an important book. One given to him by the Dark Lord to be protected at all costs. It looked like any other book and didn't seem important in the least. Didn't draw attention of the eye. Of course it was the exact opposite, which he knew very well even if he didn't know to the extent!

Still, his gaze always fell to where he had placed the book because he was always worried he'd lost it. Of course since no one was ever interested in it, there was no need to be worried. But he couldn't shake the need to keep his own hide safe. And it didn't hurt to double check nor did it take time out of his day to do so.

So he looked over just like he always did though it had been months since the last time he'd had to.

And he promptly died inside. He would swear down the road that his soul had left its physical form for a considerable amount of time that day.

It was gone. The Dark Lord's treasured book was gone! There was an empty space where it once rested on the shelf and the books on either side had begun to lean into its former place.

He felt cold on the inside. Like someone had dumped freeing water down his spine and it sank into his very core to freeze him in place. There was a moment where he was certain he was going to vomit all over his pristine, marble floors. Just a moment where the room swam suddenly and he was brought to his knees from the sheer force of terror filling him at the future that awaited he and his family.

The Dark Lord would be enraged! And when he was angry, he spat curses back and forth. And the Dark Lord's curses were infinitely stronger when he was angry because emotions affected magic intensely. He was a master at manipulating spellwork and could do things no one would even want to dream of because they were so horrifying!

His Cruciatus Curse was what made him so terrifying to the Light and what made his name taboo once upon a time! If his name was uttered, the curse on it would summon him directly to the person who'd said it, and he'd torture them.

Lucius had somehow lost the man's prized possession and the when the Dark Lord found out he was going to string up him by his thumbs, eviscerate him, and then choke him with his own intestines while using his favourite Unforgivable for as long as he wanted. And he'd heal Lucius until he was back to normal, and then do it all over again. And many other times after that to let his anger sink in.

But who could have taken the book? No one had entered the manor without permission. And he knew everyone who had entered  _with_  permission. And the Elves wouldn't dare to touch something without  _his_  permission.

It would be impossible to create a duplicate because the Dark Lord's magic was imbued in the original and he'd know of a copy immediately should he ever return. There would be no mercy for this.

To hold onto something for the Dark Lord was considered an honour and he'd lost the item he'd been selected to hold! His favouritism in his Lord's eyes was going to plummet!

Never before had Lucius been so terrified! And he didn't even know how he'd tell his dearest wife, Narcissa.

* * *

Blaise stared down at the small box Bella had placed in front of him. It was white, and there was a green ribbon tied at the top. It was decorative though and had no real reason to be there to begin with. But it was a nice colour and material.

"Got this yesterday and Remus put a cooling charm on it to keep it at the perfect temperature for me. Happy birthday."

It ended up being a cake. A small cake where the diameter was about the same length as the space between the tip of his middle finger, and the edge of his palm. He'd never seen a cake so small.

"It's a personal-sized cake. And it's made using their awesome butter that is just fancy biscuits that have been ground together with some other ingredients. And that very butter was used in this cake and it's great, so I hope you like it."

Bella had gotten him a muggle cake for his birthday. He'd never eaten food directly from the muggle world before and he was only a bit concerned. It smelled good, and tan frosting looked too nice to ruin though. It was like subtle art.

"Thank you," he remembered to say, feeling a bit emotional since only his mum had ever gotten him a cake before. And he didn't have many friends of his own because dealing with other people was stressful and he liked to avoid it if at all possible.

The girl patted his back none too gently and beamed. "I have a thing for personal-sized foods. And I promise I will never lead you astray when it comes to food. I like food a lot. I can't have everything I want most of the time so I gotta savour what I can get when I get it."

Oh yeah. Her sport required her to weigh as little as her health allowed because according to Bella, the knees take on at least twice the amount of your actual weight. So while she weighed only six stone, her knees suffered twice that weight whenever she did her fancy jumps because the jarring impact when landing had an affect every time.

That sounded so annoying. He had to commend her for sticking to such a dream when such a sacrifice was involved.

"How did you find out my birthday?" he asked a moment later when he realised that he'd never parted with such information. He hadn't seen a reason to.

"Theo told me." That made sense. "He said you had an affinity for sweets and I thought this would suit you well. Aaliyah placed the order for me while I we were on our way to practice and then we picked it up later."

Blaise grabbed a spoon and took a single piece of cake. Bella was watching him eagerly and he felt almost self-conscious over what he was doing.

That was all defenestrated the moment the cake touched his tongue. It was smooth and his mouth watered at the flavour. Unlike anything he'd ever had before! It was difficult to describe.

"Another satisfied customer," Bella whispered, pleased with herself. Then louder, she said, "I'll introduce you to the butter and biscuits it comes from later, I promise. I too have a hard time pacing myself with it. It does away with your self control so easily."

Hecate bless Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels.

He had to tell his mother about it!

* * *

Bella accepted the offered water bottle from her guardian and proceeded to chug the entire contents of it. She'd been doing some minor weight lifting for the past half hour, and had worked up a decent sweat. And it wasn't anything specifically difficult, but she wasn't allowed to just stand in place with working with weights. She had to do squats as well, so she'd be getting twice the amount of work out. It was a good thing she had healthy knees otherwise that could have been a recipe for disaster in one way or another.

"Go get on the treadmill for ten minutes and then do some stretches," Aaliyah told her, taking the bottle back. "I want you to walk off your fatigue. Make sure you don't sit yet or you won't be getting back up."

The thing about working out, was the energy. Bella usually always had the energy save for a few times here and there where she had no energy to do anything at all. She could work out just fine, but her problems was the whole being a child thing. She was about 151 cm. and weighed 6 Stone. Her body was still young and relatively thin and didn't hold record-breaking muscle mass yet. So some things were a bit of a strain and they had to carefully introduce said skinny, little body to these things.

Once she'd warmed down, they'd be going to lunch. After lunch and more stretches, she'd hit the rink.

Bella liked having a routine. She liked knowing what to expect form her days and knowing what she needed to do ahead of time. It made her feel more secure in her own life. While other things may change around her as the days went by, her training would stay relatively the same, along the same routine. A routine meant familiarity and that was the best thing for someone like Belladonna Potter-Michaels.

Thank God she didn't have to run on the treadmill on these days too. Doing the Quidditch Pitch every other day was good enough and Aaliyah didn't want to mix hard cardio with hard weights yet. Eventually they'd get there but she thought Bella a little too young and underdeveloped to go that hard just yet.

Bella disagreed but this was one thing she wouldn't challenge her guardian on because Aaliyah did in fact have much more knowledge about physical training than Bella did and rebelling in this wouldn't be good. She might end up not being allowed to do any kind of training for a specified amount of time as a result!

* * *

Theo glared at the letter from his grandfather. Once again, another declaration of disappointment over the company he'd chosen to keep. Even though Belladonna was removed from her birth family and wasn't interested in them at all, she still wasn't good enough in his grandfather's eyes.

And while the man could certainly be terrifying, Theo just couldn't find the respect necessary to do as he said. And he'd ordered the boy to cease all contact with his companions.

But the thing was, he could only do so much. Theo was all House Nott had. With his father in prison for a long time because they weren't wealthy enough to buy off so many years like the Potters could, Theo was the only hope they had for the House to rise from its ashes.

His grandfather was too old to sire any more children and his father had been subjected to Dementors for so long already that the chances of him being capable of siring more children of his own, were very slim. And there were no other Notts in existence so the Head of the family couldn't outright get rid of Theo.

Xenophon Nott was a very Dark individual with no morals to his name whatsoever. Growing up with him had been very unfortunate for Theodore and he would honestly trade the man for anyone else because no one could be as terrible in his eyes.

And the only people the man was scared of were the Dark Lord, and Blaise's mum. Mostly because of how good she was at killing people and not getting caught.

So the man could threaten all he wanted but with the Zabinis on Theo's side, he was pretty much safe for the time being. But who knew what the man would do if he found out that Voldemort was still alive and as trying to return to power?

He might get brave. Theo might have to run away from home if that ended up being the case.

And it wasn't like he could just come out and announce his issues to people because most of them wouldn't care or wouldn't understand. And yet… he found himself kind of wanting to tell his friends about it because he didn't want to be the only person aware of all the details even if the thought of sharing personal information unnerved him so much!

Considering how Bella and Hermione were, they would immediately be on his side without hesitation. Neville was facing his own family issues so he'd probably understand better than most.

It was decided. He'd talk to the group at the next possible convenience and explain just what was going on with his family and the position he'd been put in as the future of his House.

Blaise had already shared some of his story, and Neville had revealed his family's darkest secret, so it was only fair that Theo continued the trend.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_Bauer_\(element\))]** An Ina Bauer is a figure skating element so named after the woman who  
>  invented it. It requires parallel blades. **'One foot is on a forward edge and  
>  the ** **other leg is on a backwards and different parallel edge. The forward  
>  leg is ** **bent slightly and the trailing leg is straight.' - Wikipedia.**
> 
> A layback is the most difficult way to perform the Ina Bauer because while  
> you hold this difficult position, you have to bend backward as if laying, and  
> hold the position as you glide. It takes flexibility to accomplish.
> 
> **[2]** It's my birthday. August 3rd.

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS. ^-^


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here comes the summer. Some good and some ugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -So much is going on.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

The Cannons were going up against the Wasps on this day. Prue took a deep breath and released it through her nostrils slowly. This was a time for calm. Her former matches had all been impressive. She could do this.

Captain Holt was giving a rousing speech over the cheering of the crowd outside. There were many more cheers for the Cannons this time, which was a good thing. It showed that people were impressed and paying them proper attention.

"The Wasps may have a clean reputation and a good skill set, but we are not going to allow that to intimidate us!" said the captain. "The Bats had been very much the same and we defeated them in our first match. Play your very best game."

The team all nodded and mounted their brooms immediately.

Prue didn't intend to lose.

* * *

Twenty years. She and her husband had been sentenced to twenty years in prison and it was all Lily's fault! All she had to do was keep her little freak in her own home and stop trying to foist off her responsibilities onto Petunia's shoulder. That was all she had to do!

But no! Never in her life, had Lily ever been expected to do anything. It was always Petunia having to take the reins and be the role model. Perfect Lily got to ignore chores, homework, and even her duty to help with funeral arrangements for their departed parents.

And in the end, Petunia was the one to suffer for all of it. It wasn't her fault the girl wasn't registered as a person. How would she have been able to explain her existence anyway without being jailed for supposed kidnapping? Those magical freaks never thought anything through because they liked to sit up on their mountain and lord over the perfectly normal folk of the world.

Petunia despised the lot of them. As usual, Lily fucked up and Petunia paid the price. And her Dudders would be gone for so long!

"Stop your whinging!" a nearby guard hollered, making her flinch.

One day... Lily would get hers.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle the exams when you're just  _so_  busy?"

Bella blinked a few times. She and Pansy Parkinson hadn't ever really spoken before and she'd felt no need to talk to the other girl before either. However the snide comment and forced innocent expression did annoy her a bit and Bella was nothing if not a smart arse. "What about you, Parkinson?" asked Bella with equally fake kindness and a forced smile that hurt her cheeks. "From what I recall you aren't even in the top ten out of any of our Slytherins classmates let alone the collective first year. Are you sure you'll be able to handle the exams when you're just  _soooo_  incapable of breaking through the ranks to get up there with us?" Yes, Bella was in the top ten of every class even if she hated some. And yes, she was rubbing that in Parkinson's face.

The girls' cheeks puffed out a bit as Greengrass raised a delicate hand to muffle the sound of her own laughter. Davis and Bulstrode was looking between them as if expecting shite to go down any second. Bella could feel her pulse quickening and actually started to mentally hope that Pansy would do something so she could retaliate. She hadn't shoved someone's face into a wall in months.

Unfortunately, the other girl proved to just be all talk as she turned and stomped from the dormroom, arms crossed in frustration. She was no doubt in search of Malfoy and Bella could only pity the poor boy.

"So apparently she has no backbone," Bella concluded aloud for the other girls to hear, and shared a knowing look with Greengrass.

The blonde shrugged a shoulder, which was the most inelegant thing Bella had seen of her do this school year. "Pansy is of the more wealthy families so she's used to being able to cow many of the other first years because of her standing. I can stand against her for my family is on equal footing, Millie and Tracey can't afford to however. And since you have Potter and Black lines flowing through your veins, you have more influence than she does, so she feels threatened by your existence here."

This was something Bella knew in regards to the mini-Malfoy. She hadn't really considered what it meant about the rest of her fellow Slytherins though. That would explain why Parkinson had a terrible attitude whenever Bella came around.

"If she wants to throw a tanty, she can do it elsewhere." Preferably far away from their dorm.

* * *

"I won't be able to write to anyone while I'm at home," confessed Theo as they all boarded the train. "Grandfather does not approve of the company I keep and it would be best for me to not push him lest he react unpleasantly. However, I will be visiting Blaise in August and his mum will let me use one of their owls just fine then."

"And you can pass along letters to me and I can pass them along," said Blaise.

Bella beamed but Hermione was frowning. "I wish you didn't have to be careful of who you were friends with at all. I don't understand why blood purity matters to people so much when it has lead to them contaminating their family lines with birth defects and lack of sanity."

Theodore shrugged. "It is what it is."

"I like the idea!" said Bella with surety. "My summer is going to be filled with so much work and it'll be nice to keep in contact as much as possible."

"What are you going to be doing?" Neville asked, sounding and looking a bit confused.

They'd all gotten familiar with her schedule in a sense so if she was planning to do the same thing all summer, why would it be harder work than usual if there would be no classwork or homework? At least that's what she assumed they thought.

"I am to be enlisted in classes for Ballroom dancing. This is supposed to help me with choreography since I don't plan on paying for a choreographer later on. Interpretation will be important in judging and I cannot fall into the hole of focusing only on technicals instead of presentation like so many other skaters are. And I can't wait to get to some of the more interesting dances because they require flexibility and I'll learn how to translate those moves onto the ice!"

Quickstep in particular was one she was looking forward to!

Neville placed his bag on the rack above his head and plopped onto the red seat. His blond hair was a bit more curly than usual because he'd washed it that morning but didn't bother magically drying it, so the air had done the job for him. It was preferable to his usual hairstyle and Bella had made certain to tell him immediately when she saw him that morning. "I'm going to be in the greenhouses all summer just to avoid my gran and anyone she decides to bring over. I don't really like my… family all too much and I just want to avoid all of them if I can."

At the thought of more lectures on the 'proper Heir' business, the boy sighed even harder than before. "They thought I was a Squib for such a long time. There were even talks of shipping me off to a muggle orphanage a few times and trying to start over again. And Uncle Algie kept shoving me off piers and dropping me from dangerous heights to get me to do magic to save myself. I don't… feel safe around them. They don't feel like what a family should be and thinking of them makes me feel cold."

His confession was met with horrified looks all around since he hadn't revealed the  _exact_  extent of what he was treated like at home, and Bella suddenly found herself absolutely hating the Longbottom family. If that was how they'd handle a child in their House not having magic/not being able to use their magic, they were not worth any effort in her mind. Another Light family exhibiting signs of that ridiculous Pureblood Supremacy malarkey. Despicable. Disliking Squibs and telling Neville that he wasn't good enough was one extreme, physically harming him to force him to do magic so they didn't have to live with the knowledge of a Squib in their family, was another extreme and far worse in her opinion.

They could have really messed Neville up! Her stray thoughts of him possibly needing therapy seemed to hold merit now.

And if these things were actually happening on both sides of the fence, whether both sides realised it or not, then she would have to get to work on the whole fixing the Squib situation so something like that couldn't actually happen ever again.

Things in the magical world weren't as black and white as so many wanted muggle-raised magicals to believe. People on either side were very much capable of doing horrible things all the time and it needed to be a lesson that the world came in shades of grey only. So the propaganda in the books about how Dark Magic was the epitome of evil and only those with Light cores were good and just, seemed to be very wrong. Case in point, Theo's family had Dark cores, Bella came from a family of Grey cores _(whether they wanted to admit it or not)_ , and the Longbottoms had Light cores. All three had pretty terrible families with horrible beliefs and actions under their belts.

Magical cores did not dictate the inherent goodness in someone. While each of them had terrible family members, Bella liked to think they as kids were decent human beings and not utter rubbish.

"Mione, what will you be doing this summer?" Bella asked, deciding to get the topic of something that was really beginning to aggravate her.

The girl smiled. "I'll be taking all of my GCSEs just in case and then studying up on Ancient Runes because they seem ever so fascinating. I may even start working on Arithmancy while I'm at it."

Damn! Hermione was also working ahead. She didn't seem to struggle with any of her school work though. How was she doing it?! Bella was stressing over the four she was planning to take herself.

"Runes are useful in everything," said Blaise. "It's smart to start them now. Mum started me on them ages ago and I have been considering obtaining a Rune Mastery which would them open up many possible careers by extension. If you don't want to work in the DMLE, a Diagon Alley shop, or the Daily Prophet, you'll need at least an Exceeds Expectations in your O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for Ancient Runes."

Suddenly Bella also wanted to know more about Runes. Especially if they could possible help her with the Squib plan of hers. Batman was right.

* * *

**Hi, Tom! I have fully returned for the summer so you get to talk to my**  
**glorious self every single day! Are you not thrilled?**

Had Tom been unaware of the change in time and the fact that things would be different, he would have taken her comments as self-aggrandising. However, after she had explained so much to him, and he'd gotten a better understanding of her attitude as an individual, he could tell that she was merely joking and did not think of herself in such a way.

The twenty-first century was filled with ' _exaggeration and hyperbole_ ' according to Belladonna. Such as people saying they were dying the moment they saw something remotely humorous. They were in fact not dying at all, but it was the slang of the day.

Another thing they apparently did was pretend to have massive egos for a laugh. Usually followed by intense self-deprecation.

He felt himself smile a little, actually finding amusement bubbling up from her greeting. He was already being affected by her futuristic sayings.

_Hello, Bella. Does this mean you'll be home more often?_

**Sort of. It'll mean I'll be at home all the time now, but I do have things other**  
**than skating I'll be doing. Such as dance and the like. And vlogging too. I'll**  
**be doing a lot of vlogging.**

She had not mentioned that word before.

_What exactly is vlogging?_

**You know what a camera is, yes? We've gone over some of this before.**

_Of course._

They had been a more obscure object around the orphanage and if truth be told, Tom saw his first camera when he entered Diagon Alley for the first time. One thing he would say, was that muggles did come up with interesting inventions to make up for their lack of magic, and wizards had an annoying habit of taking them apart and recreating them to be usable  _with_  magic. And while that was all well and good, they tried to take credit for the idea of the camera itself by making up some tale about studying with muggles to do it.

The same happened with the Wireless and the Hogwarts Express. And people just randomly believed these lies because Merlin forbid they admit that muggles could be a threat with their inventions!

**Well muggles have advanced them to take videos. A video is like a magical**  
**photo, except now they are in colour, have sound, and can record tonnes of**  
**hours of content instead of just a few seconds of movement.**

_So basically a film._

**More or less, yeah. Though nowhere near the same amount of editing goes**  
**into this of course. And we have this thing called the Internet as I told you.**  
**And according to the Google definition, Internet means: "a global computer**  
**network providing a variety of information and communication facilities,**  
**consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication**  
**protocols." So people all over the world are connected on the Internet and**  
**we can share information very quickly now. We also call it the World Wide**  
**Web.**

_That is impressive I must admit._

The exchanging of information within seconds with someone on the other side of the world. It was almost too good to be true. Floo Calls could not make it that far. Trans-International Apparition/Portkeys were almost impossible for most magic users.

And yet muggles had been the ones to solve this matter of communication.

**So we got logs for recording info. Then we got blogs, which is shortened for**  
**[web log] which is a log you record on the internet and can allow others to**  
**see. A vlog is a [video log] where you record yourself doing whatever and**  
**then upload it somewhere so people can watch it and get up to date with**  
**your newest information.**

_And you do this often?_

**Yeah. I have a growing fanbase who are interested in what I do, so every**  
**week I bring my camera to practice and my guardian Aaliyah who is also my**  
**coach, records some things. And then we'll usually go somewhere else so**  
**there's more of my day than just skating involved. Usually a nice dinner and**  
**then we'll go home to watch some good films.**

_You are quite busy for an eleven year old. How do you manage to do all of this and_  
_not get stressed?_

How did she still keep her sanity?

How was it that Bella found all this time to do these things and still managed to be so energetic and happy? She was exercising every bloody day! Shouldn't she be more exhausted?

**Oh no, I get stressed a lot. Before I would have to do breathing excercises**  
**and stuff taught to me by my psychiatrist, but now I have this calming magic**  
**tea that Remus got for me and it's great! And not medicated, or at least the**  
**magical equivalent of medication. I'm very cautious about using substances**  
**not meant for every day consumption because in my sport people get checked**  
**for performance enhancing drugs and the like.**

Many thoughts came to mind at once.

_I have some questions. The first being, what is a psychiatrist? I'm certain the idea has_  
_changed since my childhood. The second being, do people usually get in trouble for_  
_'performance enhancing drug use'?_

**According to Google, the definition is: "a medical practitioner specialising in**  
**the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness." This also falls in with the term**  
**Therapist: "a person who treats mental disorders by psychological rather than**  
**medical means."**

It sounded relatively familiar.

**I had to see a psychiatrist because of what my muggle relatives did to me as a**  
**child and the authorities had to make sure I wasn't mentally messed up 'cause**  
**of them. These days, muggles pay more attention to trauma and how it could**  
**affect children. In your time, what was considered common temperaments and**  
**actions would be considered abusive and traumatic here. And when a child(or**  
**anyone really) is put through that, they need guidance so they don't end up**  
**more ill than before.**

So the way Mrs. Cole had handled punishing the children wouldn't have been excusable in this time period. Locking naughty children in a dark room for three days without food was considered wrong now.

Good.

**According to our pal Wikipedia: "Performance-enhancing substances, which**  
**are also know as performance-enhancing drugs, are substances that are used**  
**to improve any form of activity performance in humans."**

**People use them everywhere. In most sports. Even when not in sports some**  
**will still use them. And people are full of faults and I wouldn't put it past**  
**anyone to try and drug another to get them into trouble. Be they a fan or a**  
**competitor.**

_I confess myself disappointed that we did not have that kind of psychiatrist in my day._  
_If they thought something was wrong with you, they called over a priest and had you_  
_exorcised instead of considering your mental wellness. And then they'd watch you with_  
_distrustful eyes for every second of your life afterward._

Instead of labeling Tom as a prodigy for having such good grades and perfect recall, Cole had called him a 'devil child' because it was apparently impossible for anyone born into that place in life, of a circus performer and the unknown man she'd laid with, to be so intelligent on his own.

And so the local priest had come along. Many times.

**Tom, did someone put you through an exorcism?**

_Yes._

**I'm sorry, Tom.**

_You are not the one to blame, Bella._

Tom always wanted to get his revenge on them. A shame he didn't get to.

**But it isn't fair that people couldn't be decent or considerate even back then! Then**  
**maybe things could have been better for you.**

_It is what it is. At least they have started to consider the feelings of children in the future._  
_I suppose that's all I can ask for, since I'm certain the magical side hasn't even advanced_  
_in their mental sector of St. Mungo's, correct?_

Why would they? Humanity as a whole tended to look out for themselves first and foremost. And the majority never thought about the minority so because most of the wizarding world didn't suffer mental affliction, of course they wouldn't bother helping those who did.

It was a glaring fault in humanity as a whole.

**Yeah. I found out they just shove people in the same ward and never do anything**  
**with them. Kinda sucks. But Magical Britain seems to be stuck in like the Victorian**  
**Era. I saw women wearing stays the last time I went to Diagon Alley. And most of**  
**the people still don't know the wonder of a pen or a pencil or even a simple, lined**  
**notebook and it's killing me!**

_That is just a figure of speech, yes? You are not dying in any way, correct?_

**No, I'm fine. Sorry, I forget that you aren't from here. It's hard to remember since**  
**I'm talking to you in this time even though you're from another time period. We**  
**like to exaggerate a lot. Hyperbole is a thing we embrace these days and drama is**  
**where it's at.**

More slang. Lovely.

_I can see that. You have such interesting things to say._

**Yeah. It's pretty awesome. If only you saw Internet lingo. You'd probably want to**  
**die on the spot though. Some people are… I can't think of a nice way to put it. But it**  
**isn't good. You think the abbreviations I gave you were odd. You don't even know the**  
**half of it, dude!**

_I'm certain you'll manage to explain it anyway._

**Totally!**

* * *

Prunella looked around at the very old decor of the dark house she'd been lead into. It was like the house had stepped out of the 1800s and no one had bothered to change the design ever since it was first built. It also smelled faintly of stale air, and dirt and the numerous portraits on the walls were filled with heavily frowning people.

"The House Elf doesn't exactly like doing his job," Lupin explained. "We do what we can personally, but we also aren't here a lot. Kreacher is his name and be aware that he's not all right int he head and is a bit off center. He'll also mumble insults at you."

The Black Ancestral Home was ugly as sin. The supposed pride of the Black Family was an extravagant hovel. It felt incredibly cramped with so many ridiculous paintings and portraits on the walls, the furniture covered in layers of dust, thick carpets that probably hadn't been beaten out in decades, and overly ostentatious chandeliers that looked really dirty.

Gaudy and atrocious.

Black had continued right on into the house, toward what looked to be the kitchen. He didn't say anything as he went, not that she had expected him to.

"I'll show you your room," said Lupin, leading her toward the staircase that was carpeted. "We need to be quiet because the portrait of Sirius' mother is up and she has a foul temper and takes forever to calm down. She's the very kind of person you'd hate since she's a Pureblood Supremacist."

Lovely. She'd end up having to hear about her ridiculous, and absolutely pointless anti-muggleborn propaganda at some point.

Her room ended up being on the first landing, right near the stairs. It had been someone else's room obviously judging by the big R.A.B. on the door. The decor resembled the rest of the house though, save for a small dragon mobile hanging in the far corner that seemed oddly out of place considering everything else was mimicking 'mature' decor.

"Sirius' younger brother used to have this room. It was the best kept room in the house because Kreacher, the Elf, adored Regulus more than anything and cherished his memory."

She was to stay in a dead person's room. Great. Was Black even okay with that?

Not that she cared about his opinion on anything. If he didn't care about her, she wouldn't care about him. That was how the world worked unfortunately and she wasn't about to expend energy worrying for someone that didn't give a damn about her existence.

"You're to be in your room by ten every night," Lupin went on to say. "Meals at eight, one, and six. Each floor has a loo and yours is right across the hall. We are on the third floor should you need us. You saw where the kitchen is. The Black Library may or may not appear. If it does, then you may go in but don't touch any books below the third row. They are Darker than Dark, and cursed to harm those not pure of blood and while you technically have 2 Pureblooded parents, I'm not certain you'd be safe."

She nodded to show that she was listening, though she had no interest in reading in general. The man gave a small, uncomfortable smile, before taking his leave and closing the door on his way out.

Prue sat on the bed, her trunk pulled up right beside her. She wanted to go to the Weasley's home. Here she couldn't fly, because they were in the middle of London. Here she had no friends. Here it was awkward with two strangers being forced to take her in until her parents were out of prison. Here it was old and creepy. Here she had to rely on two men she didn't know for help.

Here it was horrid.

There wasn't even anywhere to play football. And while she didn't necessarily like football all that much, it was still preferable to doing nothing.

She'd have to buy herself something to pass the time. And to think, she'd have to spend two months like this.

The girl sighed, and opened her trunk so she could rifle around for some parchment and a quill. She'd have to tell Ron that she couldn't come over and they'd have to just send letters. And maybe he could convince Mrs. Weasley to send her some good food if she asked. A rude House Elf didn't seem like he'd be willing to cook and Merlin only knows what Black and Lupin were capable of in the kitchen. Prue would even send Mrs. Weasley money as payment for her help.

**Hey mate,**

**Stuck inside this summer save for the matches we still have left. I can probably**  
**swing you and your family some tickets if you want to come and then we can see**  
**each other. We'll definitely win the championship!**

**It's different here than it is at my house or your house. You wouldn't want to**  
**come here. It's boring and smells weird and it's super Dark which I know your**  
**parents wouldn't like.**

**Help your mum de-gnome the garden. Don't eat anything from your brothers.**  
**Tell Ginny not to worry about being sorted and just have fun this summer. If**  
**Percy gets on your to study, run away.**

**Prue.**

* * *

"You'll need to start considering your musical options for the future so you can begin choreographing new routines to a wider variety of music," said Aaliyah that day at the rink. Her laptop was open on the bench nearest the boards and she was flicking through a list of downloaded classical songs. "Being able to perform to something different every time will show breadth of emotion and maturity."

Bella, who was seated on the bench right next to her as she laced up her skates, nodded in understanding. Certain music had a certain tonal feel to it. And if she were to only skate to a specific kind, people would easily take notice and consider her stagnant. And judges, though some loved to claim otherwise, would pre-judge someone before they even performed. She could not give them a reason to ruin her hard work.

"So we just have to pick something different from what I usually gravitate to."

"Exactly. Check this list and see if anything comes to mind."

Bella finished her laces and shifted a bit to see the turned laptop better. She groaned immediately upon seeing the very first word at the top of the page. "I don't wanna do Carmen. Everybody and their bloody brother has done Carmen.  **Habanera**  is the most overused song ever! **[1]** "

If she had to hear about how rebellious of a bird love was one more time...

"Does it  _always_  have to be an opera?"

"Not really, but a lot of people would recognise certain songs above others. And the ISU doesn't allow music with vocals **[2]**  so we have to make do with what we have."

"God, I hope that changes some day. I am sick of hearing the same music with every performance! I'm gonna end up skating to  **The Imperial March**  if this continues for too much longer." She didn't even like Star Wars. John Williams was simply a brilliant composer **[3]**.

"I'm certain something will change eventually. Someone will tire of hearing the Bond theme or Habanera and implement the change sooner or later. You'll just have to hold out until then and try to find good instrumental songs if necessary."

If it was the best she could do, then fine.

"I want to use  **River Flows in You**  for now."

"Good choice. I want you to focus on your interpretation and footwork for this piece. No jumps. It's more about emotion than anything else, so I want you to make me feel something with this. And as always, if you need help, do not be afraid to ask. This is how you learn. Your competition has PCS in spades while she is shaky in her faith for her TES.  _Your_  TES is great for the time being, so you need to level out your skill set promptly."

"Got it," she agreed, pressing play so she could hear the song again to refresh her memory. Already, her mind was dreaming up Spins and Spirals and the proper place to put them in the song.

* * *

**Blaise,**

**Grandfather is very unhappy this summer. He doesn't like that I have decided to spend**  
**time with the son of a Light Family, a Halfblood, and a Muggleborn. He hastens toward**  
**rage and punishment. And he insists upon teaching me the difference between us and**  
**them.**

**I won't be writing for a while, but please ask your mum if I can come over before the**  
**last week of summer.**

**Don't worry for me,**  
**Theo.**

* * *

**Theo,**

**Do you need mum to go over there and get you? You know she loves to terrify people**  
**and would love nothing more than to give him a few things to worry about. And if we**  
**are lucky, his old heart will stop from the shock.**

**Just say the word.**

**Blaise.**

* * *

**Blaise,**

**It's not so bad right now. I think I should be alright for the time being. Don't tell Bella**  
**or the others though. I want to do that myself.**

**Theo.**

* * *

"Belladonna, your hips are not placed correctly."

Physically, Ms. Andrews had to come over and situate Bella into the position she wanted. "Hold this position for exactly one minute before deciding to move. Marco, help her stay in place."

Marco was the name of her partner in her class. He was two years older than she, and he had been a part of the school itself for several years. He was also closer to her height than any of the other boys, which was why he'd been partnered with her in the first place. Bella was shorter than her classmates and while a lot of them felt that unfortunate, it was good in her book. Less growing meant less of a chance of struggle in her profession.

They hadn't actually begun dancing yet, because Ms. Andrews wanted to get them all familiar with the standard positions and holds. That meant memorising where the hands went, how the shoulders were to be held, and what position hips and feet should be in. Flexibility was your friend in these cases.

Maintaining the same position wasn't necessarily difficult thanks to her experience in ballet which required a lot of balance. Also, Bella was grateful for all the stretching Deborah had introduced her to because she could see some of the other students were struggling a bit. For some this was their very first of any kind of dance class ever.

Dancing with a partner was different than dancing solo or skating solo. A partner meant there had to be trust between them. That meant getting familiar with each other and knowing each other's limits. No couple just managed to come together perfectly on the first attempt and Bella and Marco were the same way. They didn't know each other well enough to build that required level of trust.

He was nice though and he made silly faces when the teacher was turned away, making Bella snort now and then.

"Why did you want to take these classes?" Marco asked her in a low voice so as not to distract anyone else.

Bella could guess why he'd ask since Aaliyah had only stayed a few minutes before she had to leave. There was a meeting she was required to attend online for NISA and Bella's class would take longer than the meeting would. Meanwhile, all the other parents had decided to watch their children and some of them didn't look like the happy sort. More like the demanding kind who didn't make their own dreams come true so they were foisting the same dreams onto their children and making them do the work instead.

A lot of sour looks and pursed lips in the crowd of women. And they were only women waiting near the door.

It was kind of sad, but things like that happened often. People liked to take advantage of talent and skills which was what put Bella off to piano for a time. She'd been doing it to have fun, and yet certain individuals kept trying to control what she did and how she did it, and kept moving things along too quickly for her liking.

"Inspiration for choreography. Training for footwork and core strength. Proper muscle build up. Experience for interpretation."

"You're twelve though. Why would you need to build up muscles now?"

"Figure skating."

Marco seemed to understand then and he gave a low whistle of amazement. "Remember me when you're famous."

Her responding snort was enough to hurt her throat.

* * *

Bella looked down at the piece of paper Hermione had given her when they'd gotten off the train. It had her phone number on it and Bella, who'd only ever really called Amara before, was a little nervous. Still, she wanted to hang out with her friends and needed to buck up and get it done. It was just a phone call. It wasn't the end of the world.

There was ringing in her ears and then someone picked up. " _Hello?_ " The person had a somewhat raspy voice but it was pleasant in a way. It wasn't like Hermione's though.

"Is Hermione there?" Bella asked, hoping she'd dialed all the numbers correctly. She'd gone extra slow just to be sure.

" _Certainly. Who's calling?_ "

"Belladonna. We go to Hogwarts together."

There was a realising sound of 'oh' before the woman's voice echoed out though more distant than before.  _"Hermione, your friend is on the phone!_ "

Exactly nine seconds later and Hermione's voice came over the phone sounding out of breath and completely baffled. " _Bella?_ "

"Mione, are you free? Amara's coming over to spend then night and we're gonna get up to some shenanigans. I thought we could invite you too so it could be a girls' night in."

That meant older films, games that Bella  _intended_  to finish before the end of the night - it  _was_  going to happen! - and a sleepover of epic proportions. And sweets. It was a Saturday and sweets were allowed on Saturdays. It was also Bella's day off and she liked to take advantage of that as much as possible. Being lazy wasn't often something she liked to do, but on her days off she didn't like doing much unless she was hit with inspiration for a routine.

" _Um… I'd have to ask my parents. Could you give me a minute?_ "

"Sure."

And now she was more worried than she had been before! What if they said no? What if they decided that because they didn't know Bella or Aaliyah then Hermione couldn't come? What if they didn't want Hermione to spend time with Bella? What if-

" _They said yes!_ " Hermione squealed into the phone and Bella could just feel herself deflate and the oncoming anxiety dissipate.

"Thank God! Aaliyah and I are going to be picking up Amara, and she said we can come and get you too if your parents want to."

" _Hold on._ "

A few more seconds and then Hermione was back with her address. " _What will I need?_ "

* * *

The epic sleepover started with Bella and Aaliyah being introduced to Hermione's parents. And Hermione had stood back, twitching with worry as she hadn't been sure how her parents would handle her first ever friend. Especially when said friend was the figure skater Hermione had been none too subtly obsessing over for the past couple of years.

Aaliyah Michaels was nice though. She had a calm countenance and a sweet disposition. She greeted Helen and Basil Granger with a wide smile and completely stole their breath away. She was suave and sophisticated and had them easily eating out of the palm of her hand. And she even got their permission for Hermione to have sweets too!

When all was said and done, Hermione found herself in the woman's blue car, sharing the wide backseat with Bella. Her overnight bag had been tossed in the boot and her window was down so the breeze could toss about her thick hair which she hadn't pulled back because the struggle was just too much half of the time.

Bella was grinning and bouncing in her seat. "We're going to get Amara now. And then Aaliyah is taking us to get food. And by that I just mean junk for the night because we clog our arteries like pros and without blinking an eye."

Meeting Amara Singh in person was nice. She was almost as dark-skinned as Aaliyah, and was much taller than both Hermione and Bella. And Hermione was a year older at least, so it was shocking. She also wore big, round glasses that made her eyes appear larger than they were. And said eyes were almost purple? Mauve perhaps? She had very long black hair that was pulled back in a plait that hung to her hips and looked incredibly heavy. If she whipped her head around and it struck someone, it would hurt no doubt. Hermione had the strange urge to see it happen.

"Whatcha doin'?" the girl asked when she slid into the vehicle.

"Eatin' chocolate," Bella answered as she shoved the rest of a chocolate bar that she'd pulled from her pocket minutes ago, into her mouth.

Bella had moved over so she was in the middle. "This is Mione. Mione, that's Amara. We've known each other since primary school."

"Honestly, I imagined you being taller," Amara said upon getting.

"You'd think that," Hermione agreed. "My parents and grandparents are short though."

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "Aaliyah towered over your mum and dad. She towers over everyone though."

"Mine parents too," added Amara.

"I come from a long line of tall individuals, ladies. I have no control over that," said Aaliyah Michaels a little crisply though she didn't  _look_  annoyed.

"I'm hoping to grow even taller," said Amara. "I like being able to look over someone's head. Would be a benefit at things like concerts and having to wait in line for stuff."

"I would like to remain a decent size because it'll add unneeded stress to my training if I get too tall too fast."

Both Bella and Amara then looked to Hermione, who floundered for a response since she'd never really thought about how tall or short she wanted to be.

"I don't care about height. I care more about my hair learning to relax already."

Both girls gave matching sounds of understanding.

"Yeah, when you get annoyed, it begins to frizz up even more than normal. It sparks too. You must get annoyed a lot," Bella observed, staring at Hermione's hair that was very frizzy but not as much as normal.

It was actually long enough to reach her mid-back, but sat around her shoulders naturally and poofed outward. It couldn't hold a curl and couldn't be straightened. Hair products for styling never worked. The best she could do was comb through it and then pull it back if she wanted to look different but that was a struggle not worth it most days.

"My hair sparks because my Housemates irritate me. Hogwarts was the first time my hair had ever been that unmanageable. Ravenclaws are annoying."

"Bunch o' backstabbing, twats," Bella agreed. She turned to Amara and said, "They literally leave her out of everything, and mock her behind her back, and the older Ravenclaws do nothing about it. Not even the Prefects."

It really  _was_  unfair. Hermione had wanted Ravenclaw because books had lead her to believe that they were a group of logical individuals. That they valued intelligence, wisdom, and acceptance. Instead, book smarts seemed to be the only thing her fellow first year Ravenclaws cared about as they all tried to outperform one another, only for Hermione to come out on top. Like always.

And they didn't like that so they ostracised her often. But Hermione had Bella, and to an extent, Blaise, Theodore, and Neville. She didn't need the Ravenclaws and their double standards in her life anyway.

"Girls, what do you want for dinner?" Bella's guardian asked, and suddenly the conversation shifted to food which was something Bella was well-versed in, or so she claimed.

If this was how spending time with friends when school wasn't involved, was supposed to be like, Hermione wanted all of it!

* * *

The scream of utter terror that rent the air and woke Aaliyah up from a sound sleep, had her heart pounding in her ears, trying to deafen her. She had a house of pre-teen girls, and no one should ever be screaming like that for any reason!

When she rushed into Bella's room, where all three girls should be, she found Bella and Amara standing on one side of the bed, and Hermione standing on the other. Between them rested Bella's massive bed they'd all been sleeping on and were currently staring at the white sheets with wide eyes.

And said bedsheets were drenched in red. Red that was covering most of poor Hermione's pyjamas and looked to be on the other two as well, though much less thankfully.

"It's that time," she noted, feeling relieved that no one was dying or being murdered. "Good thing I'm prepared for everything. Hermione's going to need the shower first, ladies." She turned toward the hall cupboard and began searching for the stash she kept in full supply at all times just in case.

"I'm so sorry!" she heard Hermione very nearly wail. She sounded distraught, making Aaliyah tsk. It wasn't like she could control when she got her cycle, otherwise no one would ever willingly have one.

"It's just bedding," said Bella reasoned softly. "I got a lot more. Though I'm really shocked that we apparently bleed so much without pads?"

"It depends!" Aaliyah called out as she finally pulled out the boxes she needed. "Some spot a bit and some pour entire waterfalls. We uteri possessors are an unfortunate lot. And not one experience is exactly like another so we have to learn our own cycles and how to handle them. I got mine at age ten and bled much more than poor Hermione has."

At least Aaliyah knew that when the time came for Bella's own cycle to present itself, she'd be ready.

"Okay, Hermione, time to learn the art of properly placed pads and monthly management to predict your future cycles."

The young girl's face was completely red and she stared very intently at Aaliyah's hands the entire time she spoke.

It was fine though. The embarrassment would pass eventually when she realised how natural this situation was and how it literally happened to half of the world's population.

* * *

Tom had come to know Belladonna quite well over the course of the past few months. He'd learned what to expect from her temperament by now. Something Tom  _wasn't_  expecting was for Belladonna to come along suddenly and begin her greeting with a comment on menstruation.

**Yo, so it turns out that the uterus can really hold a lot of old blood that the**  
**body just expels without so much as a by your leave, for a few days every**  
**month. And it apparently hurts a lot too. The absolute indecency.**

_That is… an interesting topic to begin with, I must admit. Hello to you too Bella. I_  
_take it your weekend was a learning experience?_

There were a few seconds where nothing happened. Where it seemed as if she hadn't seen his response, which was impossible since the words remained until they'd been read through. After several seconds, she finally seemed realise just what she'd written.

His face could split apart; he was grinning so much!

**OH MY GOD! I'M SO SORRY! I AM MORTIFIED! KILL ME NOW!**

There were several moments where he was certain she had to turn away to regain her composure, and he was a nice enough person to allow that to happen. He wasn't going to turn this situation into a joke because while how she brought it up was amusing, it was actually a very serious topic.

**I honestly didn't mean to even write that but I couldn't stop thinking about it**  
**and I just completely screwed up! Fuck! I even had in mind what I wanted to**  
**start off with too! :(**

Her choice of language was a bit confusing and also embarrassing from an eleven year old, but Tom chose not to say anything about that. There were moments when he could be nice. And him not teasing her would endear her to him all the more.

Also, she'd used an 'emoji' at the end, even though this was not a 'digital conversation'. An 'emoji' was an ideogram comprised of the Japanese words "e" which meant "picture" and "moji" meaning "character". Muggle culture these days made use of them when they felt the 'emoji' would better express what they were trying to say. Bella thought they were adorable.

_It's fine. I wasn't expecting that though. I thought I'd had you figured out._

**Let's just say I finally got a good look at what it's like for a uterus to just up**  
**and bleed so rudely and it wasn't pleasant. And no, I am not the one who had**  
**to deal with the pain and stuff, but it happened in my bed.**

So one of her friends during the sleepover. And considering their ages, he'd most likely assume the oldest one had just taken her first steps into the path of reproduction. How unfortunate. Magical menstruation was a bit different from their muggle counterparts and because of many reasons. One being magicals lived longer and didn't truly begin to slow down in age until their seventies. Some people still managed to have children well into their 90s.

Eighty years of menstruation didn't sound pleasant.

_Is Ms. Granger well?_

**Bugger. I didn't think you would put it together. I was trying to be vague.**

_There was only three people it could be considering you just had your friends over_  
_your home this weekend and your guardian is old enough to have gone through_  
_this before so she wouldn't have made this a big deal. When it does happen to you,_  
_please make certain you take the time to educate yourself on the differences between_  
_magical and non-magical menstruation and reproduction. There are differences that_  
_you   **will**  need to understand._

**The Medi-Witch at school supposedly gives every person who goes through**  
**it an in depth talk about it. I'm looking forward to the talk at least. I have a**  
**lot of questions and I think Hermione has already compiled a list for the poor**  
**matron for when we get back. She won't know what hit her.**

Look at that. Something beneficial had come to the school in his absence. He never thought he'd see the day.

_They didn't have that in my day. Does everyone go through the class or is it just_  
_specifically those who can go through menstruation?_

**Just those with their own cycles from what I've been told.**

So not  _everything_  had changed. Tom remembered vividly how none of the boys in his dorm would even want to hear the word menstruation. How disgusted they'd been to think about it. Tom had wondered how they planned on avoiding unwanted pregnancy if they weren't aware of the depths of the situation. Two people were involved in the process of creating a child and there were many methods of magical contraception for all parties. They should have educated themselves and they didn't over something ridiculous like it being  _'too emasculating to know'_.

Tom however, was  _not_  a coward and had made certain he knew everything there was to know about magical menstruation because not knowing anything always aggravated him. Also, it made him more appealing overall if he knew what he was talking about and showed an understanding of it, because it then allowed certain individuals to seek assistance from him and place their trust in him.

A charming and understanding young man willing to help someone through their menstrual issues was always preferred, he had learned.

_I would encourage all of your friends to learn about the subject. It's very important_  
_and ridiculous things like perceived masculinity shouldn't hold anyone back from_  
_becoming educated on health concerns. These particular things last until the body_  
_cannot handle the strain of creating a child, and we live longer than muggles do._

**You're really smart and patient, Tom. You'd probably be a good teacher.**

He was, perhaps, a little flattered. Tom had always thought he'd make a good teacher and had intended to work at Hogwarts once he graduated. It was good to know that someone else agreed with him. While he usually didn't care much for other people's opinions when he was comfortable with his own, he had a small amount of respect for Belladonna and found himself pleased with her observation.

He felt... strangely, a little warmth, which was odd considering his situation. There should be no temperature inside the diary. He was very confused.

_Thank you. I do love sharing knowledge. Mostly because if I am the one teaching it,_  
_and the person in question ends up doing well, then I know it's because of me. I am_  
_a bit possessive and narcissistic I will admit. I like knowing that some people would_  
_have gotten nowhere without my assistance._

**Yeah, I could tell that too. But we all have our highs and lows so I figured it**  
**wasn't that big of a deal. I'm a procrastinator because I get bored very quickly**  
**and leave things unfinished. I don't mean to but it's hard to keep my attention**  
**on certain things for too long, especially if they become too easy too quickly,**  
**or are unappealing. Like History. Can't stand either muggle or magical History.**

_Binns?_

Why wouldn't Dumbledore just get rid of the damn ghost? He wasn't actually teaching anything anyway. Tom had taught himself during History of Magic because Binns' issue with Goblins made him only ever talk about the damn Goblins and nothing more! And he didn't pronounce the names currently which made it even more frustrating!

For a perfectionist like Tom Riddle, he hated it when people could not properly respect other cultures!

**Got it in one! His droning voice is worse than the droning voice in my head when**  
**I read!**

That caught Tom's attention immediately. She didn't like history because it was boring. Binns made it even more boring with his voice. Tom could relate to her feelings on the matter. But Bella apparently had a voice in her head that droned on when she was read. Which would explain why she wasn't very interested in reading at all.

But how?

_You have a voice in your head? When did you first take note of it?_

**Um… I think it was like some time after I got adopted. It never appeared before**  
**that. I used to read a thesaurus for fun to educate myself! But then I never got to**  
**finish it because some time after getting adopted, the voice just appeared and I**  
**could never make it through a page. It became too frustrating.**

That sounded like a curse. One he'd never heard of, but it certainly didn't seem pleasant. It was deliberately trying to interfere with her education and that realisation had malicious connotations.

_Does it only appear when you read a book?_

It sounded like someone was trying to sabotage her attempts at learning. His first thought would be her parents but wouldn't it have activated the moment they abandoned her? While they were horrible people, would they really go that far to ruin her life if they went far enough to cut her out of their own lives?

He honestly couldn't say.

**Yeah. I got used to it so Aaliyah had to make up different ways for me to learn.**   
**It's like an old man with no life of his own, sitting in a rocking chair and trying**   
**to tell you the same story but he never quite gets to the end and he just repeats**   
**himself with certain parts over and over. And you just wanna leave and cannot**   
**because he won't shut up and for some reason he's your grandfather so you have**   
**to stay to be respectful of social norms. You know what I mean?**

_If it gets worse, perhaps you should inform your godfather. That doesn't sound normal to me._   
_I would not want you to lose opportunities because of this interference. You have potential._

And strangely enough, he actually meant it.

**If it does, I promise I will.**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habanera_\(aria\))]**  Carmen is an opera by Georges Bizet, and its most recognizable piece is called  
>  Habanera. It is also called, **"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle"**. The joke in this, is  
>  that Carmen is actually a favorite among figure skaters and  _EVERYONE_  has done a  
>  routine to a song from Carmen at least once. Bella doesn't want to be just another  
>  person doing it too.
> 
> **[[2](https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/19/5427796/figure-skating-will-allow-music-with-vocals)]**  The International Skating Union(ISU) didn't allow music with vocals until 2014.  
>  It was an unexpected decision. This chapter currently takes place in the summer of  
>  2012 so Bella cannot use whatever she wants yet. It has to be instrumental only, so  
>  even if she  _were_  to use Habanera, she could only use the instrumental version of it.
> 
> **[[3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams)]**  John Williams composed the musical scores for many amazing films we all know,  
>  and ironically, the Harry Potter series is one of them.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer continues. Some aren't having a good time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Everyone has their own issues in this chapter.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"There's no need to be nervous. You've been studying extra hard for this. Taking double the work just to make certain you could get these out of the way and even putting forth more effort in the reviews. You're going to do great!" Aaliyah told her, patting her back in support. "We devised the perfect study method for this so don't give up hope and don't doubt yourself."

It was the day. The day Bella had to take her GCSEs ahead of time so she could free up her schedule for the following school years. English, Science, and Maths had been her original goal, but they'd managed to add History into that. The inspiration was the idea of never doing muggle history again and that was a very appealing idea. So... Bella had done the thing she didn't want to, and had studied ahead of schedule.

Next year she'd take the rest and be done with her non-magical Schooling entirely! All she had to do was pass with good grades and life would get easier on one side of the barrier since she had no intention of forcing herself to go to university when it honestly wasn't worth it. Her friends had been a big help too, especially Hermione who had taken time out of her own studying to help Bella out because reading just sucked so much.

With all these efforts, Bella intended to do well. She'd gotten past that stupid voice, she'd learned what was necessary, and she was going to succeed.

"I have faith in myself," she told her guardian. "I know the material. We've gone over it all dozens of times. Luck isn't needed."

Aaliyah pushed a cup of tea into her hands. The tea that was supposed to clear the mind and calm her down. It was a good thing she wasn't the type to get nervous during exams. Lord help those who did though. Not everyone going in early during the next week, was doing it willingly. Bella was lucky to be among the privileged who weren't being forced.

"We'll go out for ice cream when you're finished," Aaliyah promised, which was like the best thing anyone could tell Bella at present.

"We can go to Diagon Alley," the girl suggested. "Their ice cream parlour has over one hundred different flavours and the amount of chocolate goodies that can be added… heaven, I tell you." Fortescue's was heaven on Earth for the suffering chocoholic who had to be a health nut for the sake of her career.

"Sure thing, kiddo."

Bella would make sure to slay those exams extra hard just in case.

* * *

"Mistress bes calling for Master Nevvy in the third drawing room!"

Neville sighed. He didn't want to go and see his grandmother or whoever she had called over for the day, but he knew he had to and there was no escaping that. And he wouldn't say no not just because he worried for himself, but he worried for the Elves. Them getting punished because Neville misbehaved wasn't a good thing and he tried to avoid getting into trouble.

"Thanks, Clover. Could you put the succulents back for me?"

"Clover bes doing that, Master Nevvy," the Elf nodded, taking the small pot from his hands. She snapped her fingers, and the dirt covering his clothing vanished without a trace. The wrinkles in his trousers flattened and his collar righted itself. His hair magically smoothed away from his brow, much to his displeasure.

"Thank you," he murmured.

His plan to remain in the greenhouses wasn't going so well. Every day so far, his grandmother had brought in someone to talk to him. Half of the time they were family members, and the other half they were old people she knew and thought would have some kind of affect on him.

When he stepped foot in the room he'd been expected at, he found his gran sipping tea with a man who looked like he'd seen some dangerous times. And Neville couldn't determine which stood out more. The fake, blue eye that jutted out from his head a swiveled around unnaturally, or the large scars stretching across his weathered face. A part of his nose was literally missing.

"Stand up straight!" Augusta ordered shrilly the moment she laid eyes on him, causing him to flinch into position instantly. "This is Alastor Moody. He is a well-known Auror and worked well with your father back when he was sound of mind and body. He will be advising you on dueling for the next month, to prepare you for a position as an Auror."

His everything pretty much sank into the ground at that point, and he felt both freezing cold and burning hot. No consideration for what Neville wanted for his own life. It was always what she and her rubbish family wanted. And they were always forcing him to do things he didn't want to do! And he wasn't even in the position to refuse because he had nowhere to go and no one else to turn to! He was literally stuck until he turned seventeen and the only good point was that they couldn't abandoned him now because his relatives were all too old to have children, or couldn't physically do it any longer. He was all they had.

Neville's sudden need to cast them all out of the family burned bright. He wanted them to suffer.

They were no family of his. They were not what a Longbottom should be in his opinion.

Alastor Moody's eyes focused on him, but the man said nothing. He was simply eerily silent for several minutes while Neville's own heartbeat was trying to deafen him.

"He's not Auror material," the man finally said, making Neville almost sag with relief. Even Moody could see he didn't want to be an Auror!

"Then  _make him_  Auror material," the old woman ordered sternly.

And once again, his heart sank.

* * *

Box steps were really easy. Keeping time was also very easy. Positioning was somewhat easy. Bella could stretch her body out very well, but finding the proper position was a bit difficult at first no matter what position it was.

Marco found her struggling to be humourous; she was not in agreement.

Like, Ballroom didn't seem as hard as Ballet, especially when one considered the extra work Ballet dancers had to put in to stay in top form. But nooooooo, the Ballroom instructors were just as hard arse as Bella's old Ballet instructor.

No mercy. High expectations. Smooth lines and genteel movements. The head, shoulders, hands, hips, knees, ankles, and feet were very important no matter the dance. And Good Lord almighty she did not like the Viennese Waltz because of the hold and how she had to position her head the whole time!

Honestly, the turns were fine. She had picked up the reverse and natural turns quick enough, it as just the hold and the need for it to be precise. The counts were easy to keep up with. Hell, she even got the fleckerl down without issue! The contra check took a few tries but she memorised it as well soon enough.

She'd only wanted Quickstep and Foxtrot to do, and unfortunately, she had to learn  _every_  dance given to her in the class, even if she wasn't fond of it. Ten weeks of class and ten dances. Ten different types of choreo to master or else.

Tango had been fun at least, though she and Marco ended up giggling through it rather than taking it seriously.

* * *

**Yo, Tom, I passed my exams! Got my results and they were all fantastic!**

Her excitement was palpable, but she couldn't help herself. Overall it had taken two days to get through her own GCSEs and it had all been worth it in the end! Also, it had been very easy, which she hadn't expected.

Something she  _did_  expect, was for Hermione to pass the exams she'd been planning to take as well. It was Hermione so of course she was going to pass them all without a hitch! She had an eidetic memory and put it to good use ten times over.

_Which exams? You haven't mentioned your end of the year exams at school yet either._

He had a point. She'd been remiss.

But at the same time those exams weren't as important at present so no one could blame her for not focusing on them as much.

**Oh yeah! I got those in the mail last week. I don't really consider them all that**   
**important yet, but for the record I got Outstandings in all exams except History**   
**of Magic where I got an Acceptable, and Astronomy where I managed an Exceeds**   
**Expectations. Pretty good despite how dull both subjects are. I'm okay with those**   
**grades. As expected, Hermione got straight Os across the board. IDK how she got**   
**such a high grade in HoM when Binns did no teaching this year but whatever.**

**As for my GCSEs, I passed the four I wanted to take and I'm super happy 'cause**   
**this frees up my schedule a lot more now. Hermione and Amara also passed theirs**   
**as well.**

Less worrying about grades. And it meant she could dedicate more time to independent study on the Squib situation that she wanted to delve into. And she could make use of the school's library to the fullest now. Also, with B-Man on her side in terms of support, she could probably get permission to enter the Restricted Section to get more reading materials.

_Congratulations. I suppose you will take some time to celebrate later?_

**We already did after I took them. I was confident I did well and lo' and behold, I**   
**totally did! It's great!**

**Hermione plans to use her free time to acquaint herself with more of the magical**   
**world. Things like myths, legends, children's tales, nursery rhymes, etc... She says**   
**that all of it is important to better understand the world we have joined and that if**   
**she is indeed going to be Minister for Magic one day, she needs to know everything.**

**Amara is also planning to enter a magical line of work. She's going to be breeding**   
**Kneazles so she'll need more time for that.**

A lot of time for that actually since Kneazle breeders also had to train the animals so they would be acceptable to adopt. And Kneazles, as Bella had been learning, were a lot more dramatic than cats were, and a thousand times more mischievous.

So if Amara wanted to make any money as a breeder, she had to raise them right which took a lot of dedication on her end.

_That is a thankless job. I hope she understands that. People don't appreciate the work that_   
_goes into that kind of job. They only see the aftermath and never truly get an idea of what_   
_goes on behind closed doors._

**I think she does. She's been considering if for a long time apparently. We have been**   
**talking about having Aoife involved just to help out. And if she is in agreement then**   
**she'll have a litter of her own. Aoife seems to be a really strong Kneazle so any of her**   
**kittens will no doubt be super awesome too.**

She was a purebred Kneazle though, so that would explain it. Partial-Kneazles weren't as magically powerful unfortunately because their blood was usually diluted. And a litter with Aoife's blood in it would be more expensive technically. Purebreds were worth more, and a high level of strength was sometimes a requirement for certain people. Like Aurors, or Department Heads, or even shop owners.

Kneazles were like guard cats in a way and the need to dress Aoife up like one of the bobbies was so strong! Bella had already bought the little uniform and had spent the past month going back and forth over whether she should do it or not and wondering if Aoife would forgive her when she eventually caved.

Because she would totally cave. It was inevitable.

_Yes, she didn't trust your DADA professor if I recall. Animals, magical or non, have a stunning_   
_ability to understand the world around them even better than humans can. They can feel and_   
_see things outside our range of vision, be they in this plane or not._

**Some muggles believe cats can see angels and demons. Do you think that's true? It**   
**weirds me out a bit tbh. I don't like thinking that there is something that I can't see.**   
**Makes me feel vulnerable, you know?**

_It is entirely possible. I may not believe in them personally since I've never seen them before,_   
_yet I've never seen a Dementor in person and I know they are real. For all we know such things_   
_do exist somewhere and felines do in fact see them. I wouldn't be surprised._

He had a point. Just because someone had never personally witnessed something, didn't mean it didn't happen. That would be like someone claiming Hitler wasn't real because they never saw him in person before.

Stupidity and willful ignorance were a dangerous mixture inside a human being.

**Cool. Hey Tom?**

_Yes, Bella?_

**What's it like being inside a book?**

_Boring. Black and white. Surrounded by all of my memories and having the chance to review_   
_them if I so choose, but not wanting to see the same things happening over and over. It got_   
_dull very quickly, but with you here to consistently speak with me, things have been looking_   
_up considerably. So thank you for your compelling company._

Such a charmer he was.

She found herself more amused by it than anything else.

**Yeah, you're totally a Slytherin. Quite the smooth talker you are.**

_I live to please, my dear._

**You kinda talk like an old man though.**

_I am sixteen, thank you very much!_

Sixteen going on sixty perhaps.

Or more technically eighty, but whatever.

**Pfft! Do you have a fear of growing old, Tom?**

_No. But old age does eventually lead to death and I am none too fond of that idea. It is_   
_the unknown. I am none too fond of not knowing or understanding anything._

**Don't worry. I won't let you die.**

Bella would never let a friend die if she could help it.

* * *

**Blaise,**

**Grandfather has taken to training and he's starting off with the very worst**   
**of the worst. You are so lucky your mum only makes you learn one spell a**   
**week. Xenophon expects me to learn dozens all at once, and gets angry if**   
**I do not master them immediately. Unfortunately, he has not realised that**   
**the teaching method he favours, 'you can only understand a curse through**   
**personal experience', makes it difficult to physically control oneself after.**

**I have enclosed quick notes for Bella, Hermione, and Neville. Bella's holds**   
**the other two so she can pass them along. I figured it would be easier on**   
**Neville if he wasn't seen accepting a letter from a Nott. If his family is as**   
**bad as I imagine them to be, it's for his own good. Bella or Hermione will**   
**be better to correspond with.**

**Wishing school would come sooner,**   
**Theo.**

* * *

Renting an owl in Diagon Alley all to send a letter was a bit annoying. Everybody apparently had to rent an owl on the very day she needed to!

It was moments like these where Bella wished she'd also gotten an owl, but at the time it didn't seem necessary because she would just be going home every other day and while she was at school, she had free use of the school owls!

But she would wait in a line for however long, because Neville was their friend and he needed some cheer during his summer with his shite family.

When she finally got to the counter, she requested the fastest bird still in the building, and quickly sent it on its way to wherever it was that Neville resided out in England.

She hoped it found him in good health.

* * *

**Hey Nev,**

**So with summer starting and everything, we were reminded that not all of us**   
**are having a great summer. So we just wanted to check up on you to hear all**   
**about your woes. Don't hold back. I will listen to everything you have to say**   
**and then some. Think of me as a journal that talks back. I will be here if you**   
**need me.**

**I will be passing on the letters to the others, so just send them all to me. I**   
**will handle everything! And I'm gonna have to buy an owl of my own I just**   
**realised.**

**What do you want for your birthday? I was thinking something plant related**   
**but I'm not too sure because I don't know what you have and what you don't.**   
**Ideas are welcome.**

**Wishing you a good one,**   
**Bella**

** ~.O.~ **

**Neville,**

**I drew up a study sheet for you for your Potions class. I figured this could do**   
**you some good when we return to school. Just memorise the plants and their**   
**uses, which should be easy because you're a Herbology genius, and then you**   
**should study the types of slicing and dicing involved, plus the different types**   
**of cauldrons and how useful they could be.**

**Everything is in alphabetical order and colour-coded. With this, Snape won't**   
**have a reason to yell at you next term. I find it best to acquaint him with the**   
**vision of a hissing feline if I need to calm down in class.**

**Keep your chin up, love your plants, and try to enjoy your summer as much**   
**as you can.**

**Hermione**

** ~.O.~ **

**Neville,**

**The best advice I could give to someone in your situation is to visit a friend's**   
**house if you can. I can go stay with Blaise but only after a certain amount of**   
**time has elapsed. Maybe you could get permission to visit Bella's house?**

**Her guardian seems like a decent person and Bella is a Halfblood, so I think**   
**she'd be acceptable company to keep. It's well-known that she is connected**   
**to her muggle life still. You family wouldn't mind I'm certain. The Potter clan**   
**has been Light-aligned for the past century after all.**

**You aren't being hurt though, right?**   
**Theodore**

** ~.O.~ **

**Hello,**

**I wasn't sure what to write, but then I got thinking. Anything must be nice**   
**to receive when you're holed up somewhere that feels like a prison. We're**   
**all thinking about you and just know that if your grandmother allowed it,**   
**mum and I would have gladly taken you in for the summer.**

**We are a Dark family though and the chances of that are slim to none. But**   
**the offer still stands.**

**Don't lose hope though! There's still Bella's or Hermione's houses if you**   
**want. You'd probably have to get either of them to write a letter to your**   
**grandmother, but it might work. And I would suggest Bella do the asking**   
**because she has higher standing than Hermione does.**

**Wishing you a decent summer,**   
**Blaise**

Neville smiled at the letters from his friends, feeling a little warm.

"You should hide those, son."

He jumped, looking up to find Moody staring at the letters with his weird eye. "Your grandmother won't like the contents of those. Hide them well. Somewhere she won't go."

Neville had a feeling that Moody could see through everything with that eye of his. And while it unnerved him, he felt a bit relieved that the man was on his side.

He knew just where to hide the letters too. After all, she hated the greenhouse.

* * *

Prue took a deep breath and rolled over on her designated bed. It was July now. The sun was shining outside the window and making the ugly, brown and orange paisley carpet look warm but all too bright for her preferences. She also didn't know how clean it was either and didn't want to lay on it just in case. The entire house was a mess and she wasn't brave enough to really attempt... anything. Showering every morning was an experience that she hastened through. Apparently they'd clean with magic and yet things would get dirty again really fast somehow.

Personally, she believed the Elf was behind it. He really seemed to hate Black and Lupin. And while she didn't like them either, calling Black a Blood Traitor because he refused to be a Blood Supremacist piece of shite, was down right wrong. Calling Lupin 'scum that should be put down' all because he was a Werewolf, was wrong. Calling Prue 'Halfblood filth' was wrong. Then again, the Elf had practically been indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, and since House Elves could live a very long time, he probably had no chance of turning over a new leaf in his advanced age. She couldn't lay all the blame on him for his attitude, especially with how much of a shrew Walburga Black seemed to be if Prue was basing her attitude off her portrait correctly.

She'd had a lot of time to think since she'd stayed in her room ever since coming to Grimmauld Place. Save for meals, Prue didn't go downstairs because there was no reason to. She couldn't go outside because they were in the middle of muggle London and there was nowhere to for her to play anyway. It was a long street that looked the same on either side and stretched on for what seemed like forever. Muggles willingly lived in places that all looked exactly the same and she didn't understand why. It was banal.

Black was ignoring her like usual so she was unperturbed about that, and talking to Lupin made her feel uncomfortable.

Avoidance was the best thing for all of them basically.

This unfortunately gave her a lot of time to think about things. Meaning her mind wandered more often than she'd prefer it to, and she'd find herself drifting into her recent past and thinking about the newest revelations and how exactly they came about.

Her chest would hurt with pains that weren't there. The laceration had long since been healed but it still felt like it was there sometimes, and she would fall into a panic at the thought of dying.

Of course she knew she  _wasn't_  dying but for some bloody reason, her body and mind were not cooperating or agreeing with this very obvious fact. No injury, no blood, and still she'd end up hyperventilating! That was the strangeness of anxiety. It made no damn sense.

Away from the darker thoughts... she had other things to worry about.

What was her best mate up to? Ron and she usually spent their summers outside at the Burrow. Some days it was de-gnoming the garden. Some days it was picking apples off the trees out in the orchard for Mrs. Weasley to save her some time. There was a field they used as a Quidditch Pitch not too far away from the house and Mrs. Weasley could actually see them from a distance should she need them. So they were never unsafe.

They, plus the twins and Ginny, would gather outside and play things like Red Letter and What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?, and usually they ended with one of the twins winning. Both were so in tune with one another that they could get out of sticky situations very quickly. Prue was obviously jealous. Especially when they were always teaming up.

Another thing she thought about… were her parents. Specifically, what was going on in Azkaban? There wasn't much public knowledge on the place and all she knew was that Dementors were everywhere. Did they visit every single prisoner? Even the ones who just committed basic things like tax fraud or owned a Flying Carpet? Were James and Lily being driven insane inside those towering walls like Death Eaters from the war were?

How would they be once they got out? Stories had been shared of people's experiences once they were out of Azkaban and it was never good. They usually needed a long time to rest before being considered well enough to be seen in proper company again because they would still be exposed to delusions that left them incapable of self-control and made them dangerous to others. Even someone with the most minimal of exposure to Dementors came out unwell. And there was no cure for exposure to Dementors!

Would they just be released to do whatever they wanted come December? And if that happened, did that mean that the duo would make her come back to them? There were two of them and one of Black and it wasn't like he would be fighting to keep her. Why waste such effort on something you hated with every fiber of your being? It seemed counterintuitive to even bother.

After thinking about it more recently… Prue was anything but pleased.

She'd had a minor panic attack upon realising that she would  _have_  to go back to them once they were free. And she was already making plans to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas and Easter. The last time she saw them, they'd been lead away in magical chains, screaming obscenities at each others, too focused on their anger to even say goodbye to their daughter or take a moment to tell her everything would be fine, even if it would have been a bald-faced lie. The effort would have been appreciated at least.

That was the first true glimpse everyone else had gotten of what Prue grew up with. Could anyone really blame her for not wanting to go back? They screamed at each other naturally. What would happen after being driven to near insanity by Dementors? How much worse could it truly get before they finally decided to get a divorce? And since they were convinced that they didn't  _need_  a divorce, it would probably get  _much_  worse before it ever got any better.

She'd suggested it months upon months ago because all they did was fight and she was honestly unaffected by the idea by now. Most kids probably wouldn't want their parents to break up but Prue couldn't hope hard enough for them to not be around each other anymore. Being constantly on the verge of hitting someone didn't seem like an emotional state anyone should want to be in. Why did they stay when they didn't care about her enough to watch what they did around her? They obviously didn't care about each other so what was the point?

And once they were freed of the prison Prue would have to go back because there was two of them and one of Black and Black certainly didn't want her. All of her guardians were incompetent and yet she'd have to return to the Potter household anyway.

But she didn't want to! She did not like the house in Wales. She didn't like the yelling and arguing. She didn't like how neither of her parents seemed to realise just how bad they got when they had a row. She hated how neither of them could be even a smidgen like the Weasleys who literally had  _every_   _reason_  to be unhappy and yet weren't.

She didn't want to go back there, but she didn't want to stay at Grimmauld Place with strange men who didn't care about her existence and who put forth no effort for her well-being her entire life. So strange to have someone that didn't care about you, capable of controlling your life so thoroughly. Black and Lupin weren't like James and Lily. She knew ordering them around wouldn't work because they weren't falling over themselves to give her whatever she wanted. They weren't in some cutthroat competition with each other to be the favourite. They didn't care if she liked them or not.

Basically, she was caught been a pair of nesting dragons and a basilisk, and hated both options.

Why couldn't she pay Mrs. Weasley to take care of her like always? She had a lot of money that she'd been given in her Trust Vault, plus what she'd earned so far in her Quidditch matches this season. She could totally give the woman one hundred Galleons a week for those eight weeks of freedom from school in the summers.

Prue would pay even more if at all possible. The Weasleys could have the rest of her Trust Vault - which was like one hundred thousand Galleons at present - if they could keep her until her seventeenth birthday. She had another vault of her own solely for her own earnings from Quidditch that she would be transferring her Trust funds into soon enough. She'd be fine. And then she'd be free to do what she wanted without the Ministry interfering with their weird arse laws that made no bloody sense!

Then again… Voldemort was still out there even if he didn't have a body. But he'd get one eventually because he seemed  _that_  determined to be a pain in her arse. Anger and revenge were a vicious motivator after all. If Prue was living with the Weasleys by the time that happened, then he'd no doubt attack them in retaliation for being made a fool of for the second time. Which meant it was a risk staying with the Weasleys now. Voldemort got through Hogwarts undetected by the wards somehow, so anything the Weasleys put up would be nothing for him.

So no Burrow yet. She couldn't go because she would not be the reason the Weasleys were murdered.

Why couldn't he have just died? Why did any of this have to happen at all?

With a sigh, Prue rolled over once again and shoved her face into the smelly pillow she'd been given. Everything was so dull!

* * *

"I want you to work on your free gliding on a single foot," said Aaliyah as Bella took a deep drink from her purple water bottle. "Your lines are usually very good, but I want to pay close attention to footwork today. So you'll do repetitions of alternating between each foot every twenty seconds. This is a chance to also work on building up your speed. Yuna Kim is known for her artistry and speed being leagues better than any other Ladies skater today **[1]**. As she, you shouldn't strive to be known for only one thing. Challenging yourself is the best way to go every time."

Yuna's physical endurance and stamina were monstrous. That was how she could push herself so well. 'Queen Yuna' wasn't a joke.

Bella was pretty good in terms of stamina. She ran every other day and made certain to pay special attention to strengthening her leg muscles. Both were very important to figure skating.

Despite what some might think, there was a lot of physics in figure skating. In order to execute a jump properly, one needed to calculate the right amount of speed and the strength necessary in the take off, in order to fit the correct amount of rotations in in the allotted time frame, while in mid-air. The arms had to be held close to the body because that allowed for faster spinning, and leaving them free would imbalance the skater and could cause over or under-rotation, or even a poor landing that might result in injury.

Skating was about knowing one's own limits and being able to multi-task. Sometimes the jump you wanted to do, was not possible. Some skaters would ignore a jump if they felt they weren't capable of performing it at the point in the program where it was originally meant to go. It was all based on knowing their body's capabilities and how their endurance was doing. And then they'd need to calculate the place the jump could be slotted into before the end of the program, if they didn't want to lose the base points they'd get for it.

All of this thinking was going on while running through the program physically, and trying to keep a pleasant face because attitude was a very big portion of the judging. It dealt with the Presentation section under the Program Component Scores(PCS). PCS made up Skating Skills, Transition, Performance, Composition, and Interpretation. Judging Performance was always varied because it was based on the individual judge's personal opinion. How did the skater do in projecting their feelings or personality? Did they fit the part they were trying to portray?

There was so much work involved that the skater had to willingly focus on many things at once, while also blocking out other things such as taking in the music, but filtering out the noise of the crowd.

Bella handed off her water and moved toward the one end of the rink to begin her practice. Free gliding, twenty seconds for each foot. Try to obtain maximum speed while keeping level.

Fun.

* * *

It was getting closer and closer to her day of birth. Every year on her birthday, she'd get all these awesome gifts and go and spend her time at the Weasley's house after a quick walk through Diagon Alley with James because 'the public had to see her'. And the walk was never 'quick' since they usually had to stop and answer questions and give an interview here and there.

Prue was used to the routine and it hadn't changed over the past ten years. But she knew it was going to change soon. She was living in London instead of Wales. Her parents were in prison. The name Potter was still being slandered in the news and while the flaying had slowed to a trickle, Rita Skeeter had been happy to bring it back up now and then for one reason or another, and it would spark more gossip. If it sells well, of course they would re-use it.

And since Black and Lupin weren't exactly the most hospitable of blokes, she was basically alone and knew that it would extend to her birthday as well. No one was required to get anyone  _anything_  on their birthday. She knew that objectively even if she grew up thinking she should be getting things because James told her she deserved them, but she was still a bit put out over the fact that she wouldn't really be getting much this year.

And Prue knew that she wouldn't be getting anything from her godafthers because after a decade of literally doing nothing for her, how could she come to expect either of her current guardians to do anything now? More than half of her childhood was over already. She had five more years of being stuck as a minor so why bother doing anything for those last few years, they probably thought. Would it really have any bearing anyway?

The common day was usually spent outside playing sports with the Weasley kids. Normal stuff because Prue didn't like going to fancy restaurants when she didn't have to. That would mean wearing dresses and doing her hair all pretty like and she hated it. Sitting still and being ladylike which was the one thing she couldn't avoid when growing up, were some of the things she hated most.

At least this time she wouldn't be forced to go through that. There was a upside to every downside so long as you looked at the situation from a different angle.

Another thing coming up was the Championship. The Cannons were going to be going up against the Tornados in the final match. And the reason was because Prue had managed to lead her team to victory over the Wimbourne Wasps in late May. It had been a long game, spanning five hours and nine minutes of time, but they'd finally ended it with another record-breaking score and one of the highest scoring games in the British and Irish Quidditch League's history.

Another opportunity to win back some of her good reputation was on the horizon and she had to be properly rested, relaxed, and stretched out for it. That last victory had gotten a considerable amount of attention in the papers and people were singing her praises for her skills.

She had to keep that momentum going. Prue would bring back her own glory without her parents around to muck it all up. And hopefully she'd reach a stable enough place where they wouldn't be able to ruin it with their foul attitudes the moment they were released from Azkaban.

She could only hope.

* * *

"You are weak!" the old man hissed, spittle flying everywhere.

Theodore, who was still astounded by how healthy his grandfather was compared to the grandparents of the other Slytheirn first years, struggled to get to his feet. His bones ached everywhere, and the back of his head throbbed from where he kept hitting it off the marble floor. But it was so difficult to control a curse he had never used before! How could he be expected to have perfect control?

Xenophon was glaring at him, his old face wrinkling with the expression. "You are nothing like  _him_!  _He_  was capable of understanding any magic the moment  _he_  saw it. You are a disgrace."

While the 'He' was never specified, Theo didn't have to guess. He knew very well whom his grandfather spoke so reverently of.

It wasn't fair to hold Theo to the same standard as the Dark Lord. Not everyone was a genius.

"Perhaps you need a refresher," said Xenophon, turning his Ash wand on Theo and casting the curse without hesitation.

It felt like fire inside his bones, and there was no way to avoid screaming himself hoarse.

He just wanted to go away.

* * *

There were gifts on her bed. Bella smiled at them, knowing perfectly who each came from. It was easy to judge by the wrappings. Everyone had their own interests and would always wrap a gift with things that appealed to them most.

Hermione sent her the whole set of the Alien films which was awesome! She could sit on the sofa and crush on Ripley for days now.

Amara got her a book of sheet music from the Disney princess films. Bella was excited to learn Prince Ali the most.

Neville's box held a silver hand mirror that was apparently magical and was supposed to give her fashion advice because it could talk. Her name was engraved at the top in a loopy font. She was told her hair needed some volume but that her skin was flawless. On the subject of Neville, she hoped he got her gift which ended up being a Mimbulus Mimbletonia. She didn't know what it was but it was rare enough to be important.

Blaise sent over a strange, black crystal orb called an Omnispecta that could record everything in 360 for up to ten minutes and then could project the recorded footage outward as if it was a real setting. There was no sound though and it was best to use in the dark because the recording was somewhat transparent. A new recording erased prior footage.

Theo got her a Level 3 Dicta-Quill which would take dictation from her, spell and grammar check her work, as well as magically refill with ink. It was the only quill she would ever use because she wouldn't have to hold it herself and that was great. Quills were ancient and she saw no need in learning how to use them which was why she still used pens at school.

Deborah got her a few new albums to listen to and Bella intended to head bang at the nearest convenience.

Sirius and Remus sent along a couple dozen gift vouchers to Hamleys for whatever she wanted. Bella didn't think she was in the age demographic for most items in the shop any longer, but the effort was appreciated and they did have art supplies on hand which she could splurge on.

The gifts were all awesome and she was super excited to thank her friends for them.

"Alright, kiddo, we're going somewhere special today so I need you to be hungry, ready, and patient, okay?" Aaliyah asked as she rummaged through her handbag to find whatever it was she was looking for.

"Sure. Is this why you insisted on no rink?"

"Yeah. I already packed a bag just in case so could you get that for me?" the woman asked, gesturing to the kitchen table where one of the travel bags was stuffed to an almost impossible degree.

"Where are we going?"

"To a place worth going to."

Well then.

* * *

Prue's room had a large window and when she opened it, the owl she was borrowing could come in and out. But it also meant other owls could come in as well. So she wasn't shocked when a small flock seemed to just appear on the windowsill that morning. It was her birthday after all and someone out there would send her a gift or two.

Mrs. Weasley was the first gift she went for and it ended up being a large vanilla cake that was filled with strawberries and covered in sugar. It tasted great. Prue made sure to write a thank you card immediately.

Ron got her a case of Chocolate Frogs. The twins sent along some test products they were working on and encouraged her to delve into her pranking side for once and try them out when they got back to school. Ginny got her a journal to rant in if she wanted. It was red and gold, as expected of a Gryffindor.

Additionally, there were a few other gifts from admirers and fans who still liked her despite everything that had happened in the last year. Cards, gift vouchers, homemade shirts, books, and even a Pygmy Puff that she named Jo just because. The Puff was lavender and incredibly soft. She would have to get a Dicta-Quill to write out thank you notes for her.

The sudden knock at her door had her sighing as quietly as she could. She didn't want to deal with either Black or Lupin today. Not on her day. For the love of Merlin, was there no mercy?

"Yeah?" she called out reluctantly.

It was Lupin. He was looking haggard as usual, the grey hairs stuck out all the more today. In his hand was a small, garishly coloured, gold box that was sparkling in the light of the sun that streamed in through the open window. "Happy birthday, Prunella."

"Thanks," the girl murmured, accepting the gift hesitantly and making quick work of the wrapping. It ended up being a smallish handbag that was simple and black, with a small, golden latch on the front.

"It's got an undetectable extension charm on it so you can fill it with anything if you want," the werewolf explained awkwardly.

She had to admit that it was a dead useful gift and he got points for effort and seeming to give enough of a damn now. She could use it to hold her things and even her trunk when the… time came for her to need all of her possessions on her self at one time.

"I like it."

At least he didn't try to pass it off as a gift from both he and Black because she wouldn't have believed that shite ever. So maybe it wasn't that bad of a day. He wasn't required to get her anything, but he had, and it was... nice.

* * *

**Tom! I want a snake so bad but I don't think Aoife would handle the competition!**   
**Also, I wouldn't be able to bring them to the school because they aren't on the**   
**allowed pet list. Not even the ones that can't actually hurt anything. And I don't**   
**think it's fair because there are rumours going around that some Gryffindors have**   
**tarantulas and rats, and if those are allowed, then others should be able to have**   
**their desired pets too.**

This whole line of thinking came upon her because of the day she'd had. Theme parks were awesome, and she loved a good thrill, but Bella had been especially taken with the petting zoo. And even though the park wasn't geared toward animals specifically, they had a decent selection in their little zoo.

And after her time with the snakes, she'd got to thinking about how annoying it was that even non-venomous ones weren't even allowed at school. If the snake couldn't harm anyone, was it really too dangerous to have?

_You like serpents, Bella? Many are frightened by them and what they are capable of. Many_   
_cultures depict them as monsters even though they are usually used as signs of healing in_   
_other cultures. And Gryffindor has always been shown favouritism so you will have to get_   
_used to it I'm afraid. I don't foresee that changing any time soon, because they are always_   
_home to the heroes while Slytherin has the evil people. Mind you, everyone loves praising_   
_Merlin but deliberately forgets he was a Slytherin._

Well that wasn't fair. And once again, the stupid prejudices between the Houses came into play. Wizards lacked any sort of logic, it was an obvious fact.

On the subject of snakes though...

**I love snakes! They're so cool looking, and bad arse, and some have really fancy**   
**patterns that look good on clothes. And the ones I've met are pretty funny. Who**   
**knew snakes could have senses of humour? Makes me wonder if other animals**   
**also have senses of humour.**

_How… would you know if a serpent had a sense of humour?_

**They argue a lot if unwillingly kept together in enclosed spaces. They act cocky**   
**and like to insult one another. We went to a theme park and they had a petting**   
**zoo, and I gravitated toward the Reptile House like usual and some snakes had**   
**to share space and they didn't like it. One threatened to leave the other writhing**   
**if it didn't stop chanting. And then I got to pet a cobra that was telling everyone it**   
**wasn't interested in 'two-legger meat' and to 'stop being cowards'. It was great!**

**Everyone else was unnerved for some reason.**

She could never understand why people didn't think snakes were awesome. They were certainly less terrifying than spiders. They didn't have eight legs and eight eyes! And while spiders could be cool too especially with how artistic they were, she just didn't like them.

One gave her creepy crawlies and one didn't.

**And they all recognised that I am a witch. I wonder if all animals can or if it's just**   
**snakes.**

_Parseltongue is not a common ability Bella. It is an animal tongue and the amount of people_   
_capable of naturally speaking even a single inhuman tongue are rare. They are born with_   
_specific growths on their vocal chords and inner ears in order to understand and speak in_   
_return. These, as far as I know, cannot be traced by muggles._

Awesome! Bella had extra bits inside the body to help her talk to snakes! That sounded so cool!

_According to the 1940s edition of the International Language Register, the only countries_   
_still home to Parselmouths, are the natives of India and Southern Rhodesia. Spain/France_   
_used to be in that list, but lost what little they had left when Salazar Slytherin, who was a_   
_Basque man, travelled to what is now known as the British Isles and brought his relatives_   
_over once Hogwarts was fully formed. Only certain family lines have this ability._

_Parselmouths are regarded with honour in those other countries because they house many_   
_dangerous serpents and being able to converse with and control them, elevates your status._   
_They don't want to kill them, they just want safety. Britain does not view things the same_   
_of course since people have slandered Salazar Slytherin's name over the last millennium_   
_and made everyone fear Parseltongue._

Wow. Talk about baggage. She needed to crack out the good old Google.

**Okay, there was a lot to take in just from those two paragraphs. Hold on a sec.**

**Okay, so according to Google, 'Southern Rhodesia' is now known as Zimbabwe.**   
**They declared independence from the British in 1965. Also, how can I possibly**   
**have Parseltongue when I am certain I'm not related to Slytherin and there is**   
**no way I have anything not white in me. I'm the whitest person in the world.**   
**I look like a blank piece of paper and burn real bad in the sun too. My lip balm**   
**has SPF 50 for Christ's sake.**

The possibility of her getting skin cancer was incredibly high. There was no way she had Indian or African in her anywhere.

_How do you know one of your parents isn't the cause? This isn't something just randomly_   
_developed, you realise?_

**Okay, first off, they obviously randomly developed at some point if they only**   
**developed within certain families centuries ago or whatever. At one point they**   
**were new and had never existed before, so this could be another case of that,**   
**for all we know.**

**As for my biological parents, they're pretty anti-Slytherin on their own and I**   
**don't think that'd go over well. From what Sirius has told me of the Potters,**   
**they descend from the Peverell line. Specifically, Ignotus Peverell. His family**   
**split, leaving him to inhabit the area that is now Scotland and their family's**   
**name eventually became Potter. Cadmus, who did marry a Slytherin woman,**   
**went to what is now England and the family became the Gaunts. And Antioch**   
**went to what is now Wales and he was murdered before he could pass along**   
**his line. I'm certain no Slytherin comes from my sperm donor's line since no**   
**Gaunts or their descendants married into the Potters.**

Nothing in the tapestry said so, according to Sirius.

_And your… egg donor? What is her tale?_

**A mystery actually. I remember being told that she was adopted and that was**   
**why the muggles could find no blood match for me. Her sister was not blood**   
**related to me so she couldn't be tried for her abuse of me if they couldn't locate**   
**a connection between us like they can through blood these days.**

_It could be from her then. It is a very rare ability and I'm certain that only you and one_   
_other possess it on the British Isles._

**Who else do you think?**

_Me, dear Bella._

**You? Are you related to the Gaunts?**

_Indeed. My mother was a borderline Squib from the Gaunt Family. She died in childbirth_   
_with me, leaving me to the orphanage._

Oh Tom.

**I'm sorry the world sucks, Tom.**

_It is what it is, Bella. I am merely glad that you and I share something unique. I would_   
_caution you about speaking freely of this ability however. It is not viewed pleasantly and_   
_they will turn on you instead of bothering to listen. I don't want you having to deal with_   
_their snide words and sneers. With all the work you do, you would not benefit from that_   
_kind of attitude hounding your every move. Being a Slytherin is difficult enough, don't_   
_make your school life any more miserable than it is._

_Certain people, even professors, will think the worst of you because of it. Trust me._

He was a lot nicer than he thought himself to be.

**You are really sweet, Tom. I won't tell people about it. I promise. Though I do**   
**think it's stupid that people think a language is bad. A language cannot be bad**   
**since it has no feelings or morals or intentions. Only the intent of the one using**   
**the language can be bad. And the fact that I cannot be honest about something**   
**as awesome as speaking to an animal, sucks majorly.**

_Try to explain that to a British wizard and they will tell you that you are a mad, Dark_   
_Arts practitioner and that you should be burned at the stake for your beliefs._

**That's stupid. The lack of common sense just keeps coming back and I'm annoyed.**

_Instead of focusing on other people's deficiencies, how about you tell me what it was like to_   
_speak with a serpent for the very first time? Mine was in the garden outside the orphanage_   
_and I had saved it from being trampled on. The other orphans seemed to care not for the_   
_well being of anyone but themselves. Not even for animals. It angered me before I learned_   
_how beneficial such a mindset could be._

**I spoke to my first snake at the zoo on my eleventh birthday. I had apologised for**   
**it being bored and when it seemed to understand, I started to ask it questions. It**   
**told me that all snakes speak just fine but two-leggers could not understand their**   
**language.**

**I was sad to leave it behind that day.**

_Yes, I often felt the same with the serpents I came into contact with. Someone who could_   
_listen, even if they had a foul attitude, was preferred. And they also could not reveal my_   
_secrets to other humans, so what I was saying  remained secret, which made them all the_   
_more appealing in my young eyes. Some snakes can even be more intelligent than humans._

**I can believe that. Some humans are just really stupid naturally.**

_Too true._

* * *

"Can Theo come over tomorrow?"

His mother didn't react in the slightest upon hearing his question. She merely continued to read the collective news articles spread out on their dining table. "Of course. Will he be the only one?" she asked as she reached for her tea.

"This summer most certainly. I don't really… know the others well enough to just invite them over and I'm not sure they'd be allowed to come anyway."

The woman glanced up from her reading, to fix her intense gaze upon him, making Blaise sweat just a little. He loved his mother and knew she loved him in return, but she was terrifying in a way that wasn't obvious. "You did say you see them as friends though."

"It's a new friendship. We don't do much yet other than study together every day. And we don't reveal every little personal thing about ourselves either. So it'll probably take more than a single near-death experience to draw us closer together."

If his skin was capable of blanching, he was certain he would have. He hadn't meant to say that aloud because it didn't sound good to the ear.

His mother's gaze sharpened instantly and her full attention was on him in a second, making him sweat even more. "Pardon?" Her voice was strained with false kindness and her jaw had gone all stiff which meant bad things!

"Um…"

"Speak up!" she ordered firmly, lavender eyes beginning to narrow dangerously. Set against her dark skin, they were usually a striking feature, but Blaise was just unnerved in that moment.

He decided to throw the teachers under the proverbial Knight Bus to make himself feel better.

"A Troll somehow got into the school on Samhain and nearly killed Neville Longbottom. Bella Potter and Hermione Granger went after it, and Theo and I followed because Slytherins are supposed to be in groups of three at least. Bella jumped on its back to distract it so we could get Longobottom to safety, and she dislocated her shoulder in the process. It managed to hit itself in the head with its club and knocked itself out."

For a moment he wondered just what was going through her mind. What horrible things was she thinking of that had her aura darkening so quickly and her magic freezing the formerly hot cup of tea enough for the cup to crack and the tea blob to fall onto the table with a loud clatter. His mum had a legendary temper and Blaise knew that most people avoided angering her because it just wasn't done if one wanted to remain intact! And he'd just been the one to do it.

Someone was going to die. Not him, but  _because_  of him didn't make it any better really.

"Why was there no notice sent home about this incident?" she managed to ask through her mounting anger, her cheery attitude slipping away. "Why did it not make it into the Daily Prophet and why was there not an inquiry?"

All he could do was shrug. "Maybe to cover it up? That night wasn't a night for intelligence from anyone. The Troll had been last seen in the dungeons and the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were literally told to go right back to where it was thought to be located." Upon seeing her nostrils flare in annoyance, he hastily added, "But it had moved on to the first floor by then so technically the students were fine."

That did not make the situation any better unfortunately.

"And you decided  _not_  to tell me about this why?"

He could practically hear the disapproval despite the fact that she had spoken with a sweet tone. A voice she usually reserved for enemies. Over-excessive kindness just wasn't the Zabini way after all. They weren't nice like that unless it was going to get them something.

Theo might not be coming over yet it seemed.

* * *

Snakes. So many serpents to choose from. So many to possess! Voldemort knew that each possession wouldn't last him very long in a singular body, but they were all he had available!

Back when he still had his own body, he'd performed enough rituals that his figure had begun to distort in appearance. Instead of his handsome features from his youth, he'd begun to lose his hair and his face became more gaunt ironically. His weight dropped, leaving him more bony and unnaturally long than before. He'd resembled a war-ravaged invalid on a good day.

Eventually, he'd come through resembling a snake more than ever before. As such, serpents were the only animals capable of tolerating what was left of his soul. Unfortunately, the tiny bit he was still operating with, was still too much for any serpent to manage for longer than a few weeks. And during the time they were possessed, their bodies would deteriorate rapidly.

And once again, he'd been banished to this hell because Albus to-many-fucking-names Dumbledore had hidden a fake Philosopher's Stone in the castle all year! He had known perfectly well that Voldemort was roaming the corridors and knew what he was searching for, and had played him like a fool. That was why he'd been allowed to do whatever he pleased. Dumbledore knew he wouldn't succeed either way.

And the girl. The little girl who thought herself important and basked in the fame she didn't rightly deserve, had been in on it! She'd been a surprisingly good actress, he would admit. She truly had him believing that she was just a clueless little girl that wasn't trusted with important information. But Dumbledore had indeed trained her well. She was better than anticipated! Their entire plan had been to make her seem unassuming to lure him in! Of course a student of Dumbledore's would be more talented than she lead on, because that was how the dear Headmaster operated as well!

Suddenly, his anger was kindled even more than before, but instead of focusing on Belladonna Potter, his actual nemesis, he was completely focused on getting rid of the little brat who took credit for doing nothing. Getting rid of Dumbledore's little pawn was imperative now! Before he found out that the other one was the true vanquisher who was prophesied to win the war. Before he started training the other one to fulfill the destiny that lay between them and ended up with two weapons at his disposal!

And while he was exacting revenge, he'd get the Longbottom boy before Dumbledore could try to salvage the situation by claiming  _he_  was truly the prophecy child and that the others had been decoys the entire time. He wouldn't put it past the old coot to try something like that should his precious pawn fail in the duty he'd given her. He cared too much for the 'greater good' after all and would sacrifice anyone if it meant winning.

It had been years since he'd felt this bloodthirsty. He longed to simply torture some unsuspecting soul into insanity. Wanted that rush of power the Dark Arts gave him every time.

He wouldn't always be so hindered and when the time came, Britain would kneel.

* * *

It was the game to end all games. At least for this current season. The Cannons were in the Championship for the first time in over a century! And this game also happened to be the 113th time the Tornados had made it to the Championship, winning 77 of those former visits.

The Cannons had never won a Championship match before, so this was more important than anything had ever been for the team as a whole. For Prue in particular, it was going to be a defining moment in the beginning stages of her career. She had to put on a good show so her prospects of joining the Welsh National Team were high. She also needed to prove that the former victories weren't flukes. That it wasn't luck on their side and that there was actually skill involved in her playing.

She could hear the cheering of the crowd and the stomping of their feet. There was a band playing and the brass section were incredibly loud. The announcers were doing a swell job of hyping everyone up for 'the game of the century' as they had decided to call it.

Captain Holt was stood before them, looking stern. His back was stiff and his jaw set. "We have had some fortunate plays this season. Our game has never been better. While I believe we can all agree that Prunella plays a large part in that, I have indeed noticed how all of you have progressed this past year.

"It had been over ten years since the Chudley Cannons managed to score anything in a game. While Prunella certainly is holding the fort down so to speak, Rodrick and Danielle have managed to make hundreds of points in these past few games. And our Beaters, Vera and William have stepped up their game and improved their aim. Galvin has been spotting the Snitch a lot more easily and been putting up quite the fight for it. Even I as the Keeper have managed to improve my hand-eye coordination in order to catch more Quaffles. There has been improvement, and it was done  _without_  Felix Felicis. Be proud of that."

Hercules had his moments of inspiration, Prue would give it to him. It was one said that the Cannons would need an entirely new team but multiple batches of Liquid Luck in order for them to win anything. She was proud to say that it was in fact not the case. They just needed her, who was relentless and didn't give a damn about her own safety. All that mattered was the game in Prue's mind.

Her willingness to take risks others wouldn't, and her perpetual insistence that people treat her like a hardened player, allowed them to try things they usually wouldn't. There was always a fear of hurting someone too much, and Prue wasn't scared of getting hurt because she'd just heal up eventually. So obviously they shouldn't worry all that much, especially if she'd be fine by the morning, and there were potions to mend bones, replenish blood, and regrow teeth.

Maybe the team will have turned around enough so that by the time she left, they'd still maintain a decent reputation on their own.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj8-K2PqPTcAhULx1kKHQFAB0EQFjAAegQICBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FYuna_Kim&usg=AOvVaw0c0rUI1QJRq_w8RGLqCNM5)]** Yuna Kim is one of the greatest Ladies skaters of all time and she is best  
>  known for her artistry and speed. Rarely do Ladies skaters manage the same  
> level of speed.

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drama is everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -You might want to hit some people.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A TROLL _in_  HOGWARTS?**

Dear readers, it has been months since the event I am about to reveal has taken  
place, and I'm certain you will all want to know the details.

On 31 October 2011, a Troll had found its way inside the school. Anyone with even  
a bit of knowledge on the castle, would know that this should be impossible. In our  
source of information on all things Hogwarts,  **Hogwarts: A History** , the school has  
a ward stone and the wards cannot be easily manipulated. There should have been  
no possible way for any sort of dangerous creature to find its way inside.

So how did this come about?

Details are foggy at best, but the general knowledge was that Professor Quirrell, yes,  
_that_  Quirrell, the one who assaulted Prunella Potter in the honour of You-Know-Who,  
came rushing into the Great Hall during the long-awaited Hallowe'en Feast, yelling  
about a Troll in the dungeons. He then fainted. As we all know he was a dark wizard  
In leagues with the Death Eaters, I'm certain this was an act of some sort and believe  
he was the one to let the beast in.

What was done in response?

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore issued an order to the suddenly panicking room, to  
have everyone return to their dormitories. You read that correctly, folks. Dumbledore  
told Slytherin and Hufflepuff, who both must travel down the same route to reach the  
commons, to go back to the very place where a vicious creature capable of ripping  
them apart, was last seen.

My sourse informed me that one child had been missing from the feast and that four  
other students went to find him out of worry. Belladonna Potter, Hermione Granger,  
Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott, arrived in time to save Neville Longbottom from a  
fate most foul. Belladonna apparently jumped onto the creature's back to distract it  
while the rest helped the Longbottom Heir escape to safety.

Belladonna managed to trick the beast into clubbing itself over the head and it fell  
into unconsciousness. She did not walk away without injury and spent an hour in  
the Hospital Wing afterward.

Why weren't the parents informed?

Surely this is a situation that would have had the parents up in arms over the well  
being of their children. So why did the Headmaster keep this information behind  
school walls? And is it not the right of the parents to learn when their children are  
in danger?

So many burning questions.

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

Bella held up The Daily Prophet. On the cover was a large photo of Prunella and her team after their victory at the British and Irish Quidditch League Championship. They'd set a new record for the league, a new record for the team, and Prunella now held the record for the most scored points in any game in their league, ever. The paper also stated that she was fast on the way to breaking the record for the most points scored by a single Chaser ever, in the British and Irish Quidditch League. The most being around three thousand from a single player.

A seven hour game of grueling competition and relentless playing and according to the paper, Prunella ended up having to switch positions. One of her team's beaters had been knocked unconscious, and Prunella had to give up her position as Chaser to a reserve, in order to fill the Beater position for two hours. In those two hours, her team managed to score one hundred points on their own while she managed to interfere in the scoring of the opposite team by leaving their Keepers bleeding from their heads after aiming dozens of Bludgers at them. The main and the reserve had both been out for the count, giving her team better chances to score while she took her frustration out on the Tornado's Chasers to hinder their scoring.

When the Cannons' Beater awoke and returned, Prunella took up her main position once more and managed to score several hundred more points by the time the main Keeper for the Tornados had been revived to the point of moving without being dizzy or bleeding from the eyes. And there was some rule about not being allowed to use magic to wake someone up so they had to wake up naturally if they were physically able to remain in the game. If not, they'd be healed up just fine but forbidden from playing any further.

This was why Bella didn't want anything to do with Quidditch! It was literally dangerous! And sure, figure skating had its moments where it too could be dangerous, but nothing would compare to flying high in the air and impossible speeds, and possibly being knocked off by a hard arse ball that could concuss you if it hard enough. And people died in horrible ways in professional games! The last year had seen someone's head caved in because the forced of the Bludgers had been too much when coupled with the power of the Beater's strike. It was bloody dangerous!

But it was obvious that this was where her sister truly shined. There was no way Prunella was lazy if she literally focused all of her Natural Aptitude into her chosen profession as well. Things like sports could be a natural talent to some but anything remotely difficult would require a hell of a lot of training and Prunella had obviously been training for years if she could pull of what the paper called ' _some of the most dangerous stunts in Quidditch_ ' especially at her age. People twice her age weren't even attempting these manoeuvers for fear of possible injury.

It was admirable, especially since Bella found brooms a bit terrifying, so the bravery needed to trust one had to be astronomical! A broom failing mid-air seemed more dangerous overall, and unappealing. Prue had to trust that the creator had done their job perfectly and that nothing outside of her own control would happen. Though Bella technically had to trust the creators of her skates to have done their jobs correctly as well, but a fail from several stories up seemed more dangerous in her young eyes.

"That kid really loves her job, huh?" Aaliyah asked, glancing over Bella's shoulder in order to see the paper as well. "If I was the average, everyday Joe, I'd probably be horrified that a child would be in such a dangerous profession but as we are figure skaters and we started out young as well, I can't fault her for it. I just hope she got into it naturally. Not many child prodigies can actually say they came into their profession willingly."

That was all anyone could hope for. Bella had heard tales of parents forcing their children into things they didn't want to do. Hell, her old primary school teacher kept trying to forcing music theory down her throat when Bella's piano skills began to ascend. That was why Bella dropped piano for a while because she wanted to do it her way and didn't care about 'the right way'. Even the kids in her Ballroom classes had parents forcing them to dance even though they didn't want to! These kinds of things happened everywhere in the world.

If she were to consider James and Lily's Potter's greed though, would they be the kind to  _not_  force their child to harness a talent that could earn them money? Sirius said they quit their jobs not long after Prunella was given the title of Girl-Who-Lived because money just kept coming in from all kinds of business deals they had signed so people could start using their daughter's face and name. James grew up incredibly privileged in a wealthy family and was never punished _(according to Sirius)_  because he was the only son to a much older couple who had been trying to have children for years. Lily was the favourite of her parents up until she abandoned them over finding out she was adopted, and she grew up middle to upper class and was well-liked by everyone and got everything she wanted simply by being pretty.

So yes, they had the potential to be the kind of people who would force their child to do something they were good at just to make them money. Exploitation was not unheard of in these situations.

Suddenly Bella wondered if Prunella had gotten into Quidditch on her own or if James Potter, the Quidditch fanatic who had wanted to play internationally according to Remus, had forced her into it. Before everything had gone to hell with Voldemort's attack all those years ago, James had apparently bought Prue only Quidditch-related toys such as baby brooms and mobiles and stuffed dolls of famous Quidditch players. It seemed like a classic case of brainwashing, exposing your child to only one thing and refusing to allow them to form interests in anything else.

She sorely hoped that wasn't the case. Then it would make everything just ten times worse and while she'd love another reason to hate them, such a thing at the expense of another child's well being, would be horrible. Bella wasn't driven by some deep amount of caring for her twin, but she didn't wish terrible things on the other girl. And certainly not so she'd have more reasons to hate another person! Anyone operating under such an attitude was a concern to society.

With the facts coming together to paint the true portrait of Prunella Alula Potter, Bella had to wonder if the girl would end up needing therapy herself. Surely it couldn't be healthy to go through all of that drama between her parents at such a young age? Bella was willing to say that her biological parents were a lot like the Dursleys, but somehow Prunella ended up being different than Dudley. The whole not being a bully thing really stood out in the long run.

Bella had needed help to adjust to the life of a normal child and with what she'd seen of Prunella's attitude at school, she seemed very oblivious to a lot going on around her. That might not be so good. The twins had shed a harsh light on the home life of the other girl through what they had seen and heard themselves.

Perhaps she should suggest therapy to Remus. Magicals didn't have psychiatrists because mental illness didn't exist to them or something, but there  _had_  to be Squib ones somewhere. Maybe Amara's parents would know any. Squibs in the muggle world could go on to experience major success if they played their cards right. She was sure they were more widespread than they first appeared since the number of them had quintupled in the past eon.

There was bound to be a Squib out there who could help and if Prunella wasn't a registered British citizen in the muggle world, which Bella was certain she wasn't since Bella hadn't been either all those years ago, they could probably set up some magically official - but unofficial in muggle terms - appointments for the girl.

Personal times, a magical vow, and payment under the table could go a long way. Magic did give them many opportunities to handle things even without muggles finding out. And as she gave it more consideration, she was certain all of her friends except Hermione, could really use the time in a psychiatrist's chair. Theo and Neville especially. Maybe they  _could_  do something about it.

"At least Prunella seems to be having fun," Bella decided to say after several silent moments of contemplation, keeping her thoughts to herself. She'd consult her friends first since they actually went to school with the other girl, and see what their opinions were on the subject.

It obviously couldn't be unrealistic that she might need help if Neville's family were secretly pieces of shite in human form even though they too were vaunted as perfect examples of Light and goodness.

* * *

"Thank Merlin!" Theodore said the moment he stepped out of the Floo at Blaise's home in Wiltshire. His entire summer had been very… not pleasant. Having to live with a Death Eater fanatic who kept trying to force things onto his shoulders all the time, was very stressful. His body was still twitching from the residual affects of the various curses he'd been forced under before performing them. His grandfather had backwards views on practically everything and that wasn't good for Theodore's continued health.

Blaise and his mother were there to greet him immediately, standing a good distance away from the mess of the fireplace to preserve the cleanliness of their clothing. The Zabini Matriarch eyed him up carefully and shook her head in obvious displeasure. He could tell that she knew exactly what had happened and she was very unhappy about it. "He's been forcing you to use magicks you aren't yet capable of handling. Xenophon is a fool and you are going to be suffering withdrawals for the next several days. We'll be lucky if the affects subside by the time you return to Hogwarts."

He knew this very well. Dark Magic wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he was very young, his core wasn't fully developed, and his grandfather insisted on teaching him certain spells that only adults used. Adults who had years of training in control as well as large and settled cores. Yet he'd been put through all of it anyway.  _'So he could be prepared for his future duties'_ , the man had told him, making Theodore loathe him all the more.

Maybe he didn't  _want_  to be another one of the twitching sycophants following the 'Darkest Wizard in History'. Maybe he didn't  _want_  to get on his knees for some unverified arsehole who could never outright admit what he stood for just so he could use the Purebloods for their connections and fortunes. Maybe- just maybe, Theo wanted to have his  _own_  life and didn't give a bleeding damn about some Dark Lord who literally lost to a baby and was wandering around as some formless wraith at present, having to possess pathetic wizards in order to get by.

"What curses did he have you working on?" Blaise's mum asked as she leaned over him in order to get a better look at his still dilated eyes. A ball of light illuminated the tip of her wand and she tsked. His eyes had been like that for two days already, gave no reaction to light, and were still red at the corners. And no, he had not been rubbing them. In fact, save for the twitching on the hands and lightheaded sensation now and then, he felt fine...ish.

" **Lacrymosa** ," Theo answered quietly **[1]**.

The hiss of air being sucked between her clenched teeth made him feel a bit self-conscious, but he knew it was unnecessary. She didn't blame  _him_  for it. She hated his grandfather too and for reasons that Theodore would never understand. "That should never be taught to a child. It could have disastrous consequences should you cast it incorrectly."

Yes, he'd learned that personally several days ago. Dozens of potions and many days later, and he still swore he felt a strange pulling sensations in his chest. As if his own organs were fighting to free themselves by turning the curse on him instead of the other way around. Theo had nearly lost his kidney as a result of many failures, and his ribcage had been bruised on the inside from the suddenness of it.

His grandfather had been displeased and punished him. Theo would admit that the Cruciatus did  _not_  hurt more than Lacrymosa did but it wasn't safe to expose one to it for too long. Lacrymosa had a reversal spell and the effects could be healed eventually. There was no healing from extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse. He'd gotten ten seconds for every failure and it also left him a bit jittery even now where his left hand was spasming every few minutes and his grip was poor thanks to the weakened muscles.

Being raised by a hardcore Death Eater was stressful. Draco was lucky. His father was a coward. His father was a backstabber and he very happily renounced the Dark Lord to save his own hide, because Malfoys had no sense of dedication. Draco lived a childhood full of adoration from his parents, never having to worry about anything. He didn't know what it was like to be raised by a true Death Eater. One of the originals. And if somehow, the Dark Lord returned to human form any time in their lifetimes, it wasn't going to be a good day when the blond learned his place.

There was no way Lucius Malfoy would get away from the Dark Lord's clutches if he returned. And Draco by default was in for a big surprise if that day came. Theodore didn't know if that realisation made him happy or sad.

"I will have the Elves draw you a cleansing salt bath. You know what to do, I'm certain. You will then need to sit in the solarium as much as possible so the sunlight can help filter out the negative affects of Post Dark Arts Addiction," said Blaise's mum with a snap of the fingers.

Three Elves appeared, took her orders, and then popped away with haste.

"Blaise, do help our guest to his rooms."

She was off then, her long, mauve skirts flowing around her as she went with purpose.

His friend of many years patted his back. "Come on, mate. Let's get this PDAA taken care of."

* * *

"Come on, not even a little bit?"

The feline refused to budge from the bed, and when Bella tried to pull her away, she wouldn't move. If anything, she was certain the Kneazle knew very well that Bella was planning on bringing her over to Amara's in order to introduce her to Amara's new tom which was named Blake. If everything went well - which it didn't seem like it was yet - they might have a litter in the future so Amara could get in her practice with breeding Kneazles.

" _Pleeeeeeheheheheas_!" the young girl whinghed. The Kneazle's claws were firmly attached to the purple bedding and she wasn't budging an inch. Bella didn't want to pull too hard at the risk of hurting her either.

"Not even for cat nip?" asked Bella. Kneazles were smart, and Aoife was smarter than most, so she obviously understood what was going on to an extent. And she knew very well what cat nip was. And she also liked catnip a lot.

Aoife stared her down, looking deeply unimpressed. The girl huffed and sent the feline a pout. "Not even for your favourite human?"

" _Raaaaawr!_ " was the strangled-sounding reply.

So maybe Amara would need a different Kneazle instead.

* * *

Molly Weasley was a very tolerant woman she liked to think. She was the mother of seven children _(six of which were boys)_  and had been the younger sister of a pair of twin boys once upon a time, and all of this had improved her patience in the past forty years, but even she had moments of utter annoyance that left her doing breathing exercises in order to calm down. Sometimes it was best to bite one's tongue and not say a thing even if it went against her beliefs. This was not one of those times thankfully.

The reason for her anger was laying on the kitchen table, face down and opened, with a familiar scrawl she was capable of honing in on like a hawk even from the other side of the room. She'd been the one to get the girl to learn her letters properly after all.

Prunella had replied to her Ronald's most recent letter and Ron had come to his mother with his concerns because what Prun had said didn't seem right. So Molly had read over the letter and her mounting anger made her hair spark and catch fire at the tips. For seven seconds she'd fully embodied her school nickname, Red-Hot Prewett.

**Ron,**

**It's so boring here! Black utterly despises me and he cannot even bother trying**  
**to be subtle about it. I know that James and Lily messed up a lot. Everyone gets**  
**that. It's not my fault they chose to abandon a kid to magic hating muggles, but**  
**he doesn't seem to get it and is taking it out on me 'cause the other two are not**  
**around for him to pick on. So I just don't go downstairs whenever he's around**  
**and end up in the room they put me in all day. This house is worse than the sty**  
**at your farm.**

 **Lupin seems to be trying to interact with me but his temperament makes him**  
**difficult to take seriously and it is just a little too late to care now, you know?**  
**Sure, they aren't on the verge of hitting each other like my parents've always**  
**been, and they certainly seem to care about each other unlike the two twats**  
**did, but it's really no better here than it was in Wales. James and Lily hated**  
**each other and focused on each other all the time, Black just outright hates**  
**me and ignores me because of it. Not much of an improvement.**

 **Anyway, I do not see me coming over as an option. Merlin knows that Black**  
**would refuse just to 'teach me a lesson' or something. I wouldn't put it past**  
**him. Spite is practically his given name, and I don't want to be around him**  
**any more than I have to and I know the feeling is mutual. Meanwhile, Lupin**  
**is left even more awkward than normal because he's trying to balance out**  
**our attitudes without taking sides I guess? He got me a bag for my birthday**  
**so he's you know, trying.**

**Don't expect to see me until September, and don't worry about anything.**

**You better be helping Mrs. Weasley with the garden or I am going to shove**  
**my foot up your arse come September. Eat nothing the twins give you. Let**  
**Ginny use the Thunderbolt now and then, but only under supervision. And**  
**don't rise to Percy's whinging. You just give him more reason to lecture if**  
**you do.**

 **Have a good one,**  
**Prue.**

Molly had originally planned to interfere with Prue's placement with the Blacks because she didn't know them and it would just be awkward. Arthur told her to mind her own business at the time because Prue was actually Sirius' blood-adopted daughter and he had a right to house her. But now she regretted not saying something when the chance had come up. She had wanted to petition for guardianship immediately but had listened to Arthur instead and now look at what was happening!

She should have known that Sirius Black wouldn't change all that much from his childhood. His roots were still there no matter how much he tried to stray from them. That madness so known in his family must have affected him to make him act this way. How could he care about only one of his daughters simply because he disagreed with the parents of said daughters?

Arthur was at the Ministry doing double time like he had been for the last month, and he wouldn't be able to intervene now, would he?

The woman approached the fireplace with purpose, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder from a flower pot on a small table along the way. The powder was tossed into the flames and the fire roared green as she yelled, "London, 12 Grimmauld Place!"

There were a few seconds of silence before Remus Lupin-Black's face appeared in the flame looking confused and a little terrified. Like he was expecting bad news. "Molly? Is everything alright?"

"No, everything is most certainly not alright, Remus John Lupin-Black!" That was right, she four-named him like he was a petulant child. And in her mind and at her age, he and his spouse were in fact acting like children!

"We will be taking Prunella off your hands for the rest of the summer since it has become quite obvious that you do not want to do your duty by her, Sirius Orion Black!" she hollered, knowing full well that he was listening nearby just in case. He would never let his husband answer a hasty Floo Call unsupported. "I understand your anger over what James and Lily have done, I too am enraged by their actions, but eleven bloody years have passed by and your other daughter has been forced to deal with those two imbeciles on her own when she really could have benefited from more outside influence! And now you have full custody of her and can't even be bothered to do the job you agreed to on 31 July 2000!"

Remus' jaw had dropped in shock, though he said nothing to defend either of their inaction. Apparently, he'd at least picked up on what he'd done wrong.

Molly continued on, not caring for either of their feelings. As a mother, she was furious on behalf of not only Prunella. "I'm starting to believe that it was best for Belladonna to go to the muggle world because she seems to have made a good life for herself on her own, and Merlin only knows what you would have done had she gone to stay with you all those years ago! You have obviously not matured all that much and subjecting a child to that kind of attitude is terrible! Prunella could have spoken up, true, but she is the child here and expecting such maturity from her when  _you_  can't even exhibit any, is hypocritical!"

She was practically spitting with rage by this point, and her face felt hot. Alreayd there was a strain forming at the crown of her head and she knew there would be a massive headache in her future.

"Childishly avoiding your responsibilities just because the birth parents of your daughter did something you don't agree with! Mark my words, Sirius Orion Black, you have successfully alienated your goddaughter and she will never trust you! I hope you never have children of your own because it is quite obvious you cannot be trusted with them! Now send Prunella through and believe me when I say you won't have to even put forth the energy to fake giving a damn about her! We've been raising her much better than you ever could hope to!"

Molly stood then, ending the call because she didn't care for whatever excuses the Black Lord would no doubt come up with if given the chance. And she knew that Remus would do as he was told for fear of enraging her further. Molly was very talented at writing Howlers after all.

She was brought up short by the sight of her children all standing by the stairs, looking awkward but also nodding to themselves.

Fred and George began clapping. "Good show, mum! We've been waiting for something that for years!" they cheered in unison.

Ron and Ginny were nodding silently and Percy looked to be disappointed, though it didn't seem to be aimed at her.

A few minutes later, Prunella stepped through the green flames in the Floo and wrapped her arms around Molly first. "You made the chandelier shake. It was wicked!"

Ah yes, the power of Molly's lungs was unrivaled. "We're glad to have you, dear. No how about you go upstairs to the kids? Ron mentioned setting up the other bed for you in Ginny's room."

The girl beamed. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!"

The woman took a deep breath. Three weeks of the summer left. If only she'd been aware of the situation before then, she could have gotten Prue out of there earlier.

It was a rare moment when Molly felt so disappointed that she just felt physically drained. She'd put so much energy into that Floo Call and needed a few moments of rest before she went back to making dinner.

* * *

"Am I a bad parental figure?"

He'd asked that question because Molly Weasley's vitriol over his parenting skills had left him speechless long enough for Moony to get Prunella ready to go and for the girl to leave via the Floo moments later without even looking back to see their expressions. Apparently all of her belongings had remained in her school trunk and she had moved that into the small bag Remus had gotten her for her birthday. She hadn't even gotten comfortable while there. She had been ready to get out the moment she'd been given a chance.

Remus winced as the question was aimed at him and he didn't answer right away which wasn't good.

"Sort of," the man said carefully, "though I am just as bad because I never questioned your decision to avoid Prunella. Even though Bella was gone, there was still another child who needed us and if Molly finds James and Lily to be lacking as parental figures toward Prunella, then they must have done something to irritate Molly as well. I could understand wondering why she didn't speak up around the time she turned eight where she would no doubt understand the situation better, but the responsibility isn't on the child to make sure her parents are being good parents."

He'd never thought if it like that. The Potters looked perfect on the surface. There were so many interviews from them! They were hailed as some of the greatest people of the 21st century! Prunella didn't appear to need anyone else because her parents lavished her with attention all the time and she looked happy with her childhood!

With how angry Molly was though, perhaps they weren't as happy as they appeared. And if that was the case, then Sirius had really fucked up.

"Prunella is not like her parents," said Remus with finality. "I have had some awkward conversations with her. She never acts as I expect, seems to be the pure antithesis of both James and Lily, and she knows very well that you hate her."

"I don't  _hate_  her!" Sirius protested hotly, though with the look Remus sent him, he cowered under that golden gaze. There was simply too much knowing for his liking.

"You literally shut her out whenever she comes around, and frown whenever she looks at you. She told Albus to his face that she didn't know or trust us because we were never there for her when she was growing up. She blatantly stated that you didn't like her and Severus hated her because of James. She isn't daft, Padfoot. She knows."

Damn it.

"And can we really say we would have allowed Prue to come over if we had been allowed to take Bella in? From what I remember of back then, we avoided any contact with the Potter Family and I'm certain we wouldn't have extended a hand to Prunella ever, thereby making the girls estranged."

The annoying thing was that Remus was right. He probably wouldn't have because it looked like Prunella was happy as she was and wouldn't need anyone else. So they probably would have spent all their time on Bella to give her the attention she would need and not let her talk to her relatives for fear of them being a horrible influence. But they had never thought James and Lily would be a horrible influence on  _Prunella_.

They would have totally left her there without a care, and he knew it quite well. And he hated how right Molly had been.

"It isn't too late to make up for what we didn't do," Remus said with distant finality. "We'll have more access to her than her parents will thanks to Hogwarts. We'll just have to be there like they can't be. And… I think Bella has also realised how we've treated Prunella, and I don't think she's pleased either, so we're really going to have to double down and make it up to the both of them."

* * *

YES! The Quickstep! Bella had a week to learn the choreography with her partner and she was so hyped for it! She'd been waiting for this since for like ever!

For this express purpose, she avoided skating all week just so she could dedicate all the time necessary to mastering this dance as quickly as possible. Especially since the summer was winding down so fast and she wouldn't be able to do the same work once school started again.

Marco found her enthusiasm infectious and ended up smiling the whole time as well.

And the best part was that ankle placement was very important in the Quickstep and Bella, thanks for her history in figure skating, was very well stretched out everywhere. It was just legs that had to be limber. Every single part of the body had to have smooth mobility, and Bella did spend her days int he mornings, stretching herself out as she was taught years back.

The ankles and heels also required a considerable amount of muscle strength. Weak ankles weren't very good any any kind of aerobic activity. Bella was ahead of some of her classmates in that area specifically, which gave her more time to focus on the moves themselves.

Quickstep required swan-like behavior. Smooth and gentle on the top, but feet running madly underneath. The tempo was very important to keep in time with and finding the proper music wasn't as easy as some would believe.

And while she was learning this lovely dance, Bella kept imagining herself learning Tap as well. She'd have to mention it to Aaliyah later on, but the idea had merit so she doubted it would be met with refusal.

* * *

There was no progress. No matter how many drills Neville had been put through, he was showing no progress in the training he was being forced through. His grandmother was livid. She blamed him for being a near Squib. She said if he'd been anything like Frank, then this wouldn't be happening.

Moody blamed his wand. Or rather, his father's wand that his grandmother was forcing him to use in hopes of him somehow becoming like Frank. Neville was tired of hearing about Frank.

According to Moody, there was no connection between the wand and Neville because its allegiance was to another and just because Frank Longbottom wasn't of sound mind any longer, didn't mean his wand had abandoned. The wand would never work for Neville and that was the simple fact. He wouldn't be able to win it in a duel, because Frank couldn't duel someone in order to lose ownership of it.

Essentially, the wand hindered his magical skill. Moody explained this very clearly. Neville would never reach his true potential if he continued to use a wand that wasn't meant for him.

Augusta didn't approve of it. She glared heatedly at the old Auror for his words and had some choice words of her own for him.

Neville was in turn, mortified that Moody had to see the ensuing lecture Augusta put him through. The man had stood by, still as stone and looking unpleasant, as Augusta told him he wasn't trying hard enough. That any wizard should be capable of using a wand not theirs. She didn't see Moody's eyes, both of them, roll upward at the claim, showing that she was wrong.

Moody was on Neville's side in this. It was sad that not even a member of Neville's own family could at least side with him for once.

"Listen, son, you've done well to memorise the wand movements and pronunciations," said Moody after training that day. His mouth was set in a deep frown that made the numerous scars on his face stand out. "If you get your hands on a wand of your own some day, I've no doubt you'll manage these spells just fine. You just need the proper magical focus! I've continued to teach you because knowing how to defend yourself should be something  _everyone_  knows! Constant vigilance is important for everyone, not just Aurors!"

That was something to look forward to at least. One day, hopefully soon, Neville would have his own wand and he'd be able to truly prove himself.

He still didn't want to be an Auror, but the burning desire to prove his gran wrong was strong. He wanted to thoroughly dash whatever beliefs she held, and wanted to render her speechless with horror.

Neville was sick of having to fall in line. He didn't want to do as he was told, but he wasn't in the position to rebel. Even with the support of his friends, he didn't feel safe just yet. It would no doubt be a long time before he did too.

At this point in his young life, he just had to bear it until he was free.

Briefly he wondered if perhaps he should have been in Slytherin with all these plots running through his mind. His precious family would keel over if he was resorted!

* * *

 **So school will be starting back up soon and that means a new schedule for**  
**me to follow! And since I won't have as much work this year thanks to my**  
**GCSEs, I probably won't be as tired. Also less studying to do. Not having to**  
**do History of the World any longer is the best feeling!**

Tom was continuously baffled by how quickly time seemed to pass while he was in the Diary but actually had someone to speak with on a day to day basis. He'd spent upwards of seventy years in the book and it had felt like an eternity! But with Bella, things just seemed to pass by them so quickly! They had already known each other for about eight months and yet it didn't feel that long at all.

It felt like he'd only met her yesterday. And in that time frame he'd somehow gone from plotting to trick her into freeing him, to realising that such a thing wasn't possible for some reason, to begrudgingly admiring the girl. She was amusing. Honest. Forthright.

Yet very Slytherin, but not on his level. Tom liked to think himself the superior Slytherin of course.

 _That will of course be ruined when your Third Year begins because you will have_  
_an available selection of elective courses that will be added on to your schedule so_  
_you are basically exchanging one struggle for another since you must take at least_  
_two. The notes may say can select from any of the available courses but they do_  
_mean at least two. Some will try to take more of course._

The schoolwork got more difficult leading up to their O.W.L.s and then kind of calmed down in the last two years because they were mostly review years for the N.E.W.T.s. There were far more study periods in sixth and seventh year because review was most important to those years and students were expected to know how to manage their time wisely.

Bella would not be continuing her run of free time. In fact, her work out schedule was due for a change soon because she wouldn't have time enough to train on the ice, practice dance in the studio, go to classes, and study material for two different worlds all at once.

Tom found himself curious to know how she'd handle it. She was only twelve years old and she had far more on her mind than Tom ever did at her age. And actually having friends on her side didn't change anything when she still faced animosity from her Housemates.

They were so similar! Halfbloods, Slytherins, and Parselmouths, with horrible parents, who had both lived in an orphanage for a time, and who already had elaborate goals for their lives.

 **What classes will there be? I know of like one and that is Ancient Runes. And**  
**it's mostly for more own reasons even if I don't fully understand the subject**  
**yet.**

Ah! A topic he was well-versed in!

Tom was much like a salesman and was certain he was charming enough to sell the idea of something very well. It was how he managed to get people like Abraxas Malfoy to bow before him by his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Study of Ancient Runes, which I think will benefit your desire to give Squibs their own  
personal access to their magic. I set an O.W.L. record in this class and find it useful.  
Runes can be used for everything you can imagine and can even be mixed with other  
branches of magic for maximum effect.

Muggle Studies which does as it is so named. I wouldn't recommend it because the  
wizarding knowledge of muggles is outdated and they seem to view them as no more  
than trained pets half of the time. I tried convincing my Muggle Studies professor that  
muggles had mass weapons and that science made them dangerous, and was told I  
was over-exaggerating. You would only end up offended by that class so don't bother  
with it. I doubt it'll ever change, especially in Britain.

Divination which teaches you about the different branches of the Sight and how to  
invoke visions. However, it is rather useless since if you are not born with the Sight,  
you will not be able to make personal use of any of the knowledge in such a class.

Arithmancy which studies the magical properties of numbers in order to predict the  
future with numbers and numerology. So like Divination but centered around maths  
and entirely more probable. I took the class as well and set an O.W.L. record in it as  
well.

Care of Magical Creatures teaches you about the various magical beings inhabiting the  
wizarding world. The only people who go into that class are usually those expecting to  
handle animals in the future, such as Magizoologists and Healers of a sort.

He wished he had time to go into more detail on each subject. He always did like having an audience and he could practically feel Bella's interest through the leather bound-pages.

It made him feel validated.

 **That's a lot to choose from. I suppose Ancient Runes is something I should**  
**definitely learn. Remus and Batman both agree on that one. And I guess I**  
**should do Arithmancy too just 'cause it seems to fit. Muggles Studies, Care,**  
**and Divination sound boring and pointless for me and my intentions. And I**  
**am a bit put off by learning wrong information in regards to muggles, doing**  
**stuff with animals I'm not familiar with, and reading tea leaves, cards, and**  
**the crystal balls seems pointless if it won't benefit me at all.**

 **Why bother teaching a subject if only a select few people can even benefit**  
**from it? Wizards once again make no damn sense. ffs.**

She wasn't wrong. Tom had taken them all but hated half of the elective courses easily.

Wizards could be very... ignorant at times.

 _Indeed. You will also be allowed to join the various clubs in the school because you_  
_will be considered old enough to handle extra responsibility. The various clubs are_  
_Frog Choir, Debate Club, Quidditch, Wizard's Chess, Book Club, Linguistics, Artisan_  
_Crafts, Orchestra, and probably more that came after my time at the school._

 **We don't HAVE to join a club though, right? I don't fancy having to waste**  
**time on something I'm not into. Though Artisan Crafts sounds interesting.**

_No. These are no mandatory, thankfully._

**Great! idgaf about clubs. I'd have to be around more people than normal in**  
**that case.**

_I too wasn't a member of a club. I found the available ones to be wastes of my time._

**Too good for them?**

_More like they didn't align with any of my interests._

**So basically you thought you were too good for them?**

What a cheeky child Bella was.

_Fine. Yes. Happy?_

**Ecstatic! :)**

Tom had been plotting his future, he didn't have time for childish things like 'group' and 'club'.

* * *

**Amara,**

**My parents decided to take a small holiday to Berlin for the next week.**  
**We have gone to many places in my soon to be 13 years, but Germany**  
**wasn't one of them. I'm excited to see the magical shopping district in**  
**Berlin and I'm going to bring everyone something in return.**

 **The magical history in Germany is rich, but pretty dark and bloody. I'm**  
**eager to learn as much as I can. Apparently, Gellert Grindelwald had a**  
**hand in World War II because he had magical influence over Hitler. It**  
**makes me wonder just how often magicals are involved in the muggle**  
**world. That cannot have been the first time it happened.**

 **A shop in Diagon Alley explained that there were many sights to see**  
**in Berlin and gave me a suggested itinerary for my time there. This**  
**list involves a museum, a library, and the shopping district, Zaubern,**  
**that have a lot to offer a tourist who wishes to learn about Germany's  
history.**

**We will be back by the twentieth.**

**With much excitement,**  
**Hermione.**

* * *

Prue was sitting on a chair at the Weasley's kitchen table, her arm propped upon on the long slab of wood so Mrs. Weasley could tend to her arm. They'd been out at the little pitch nearby, practicing some moves, when Prue and Ginny collided. More like Ginny flew into her and they both tumbled off their brooms to the ground, but it was a collision of a sort.

She had landed first, and then Ginny on top of her thankfully. There had been a snap and a sharp pain near the elbow and while she had been perfectly prepared to continue playing anyway since it would get better eventually, Ginny teared up and ran back to the house to tell Mrs. Weasley, who had called her inside to take a closer look at the injury.

So a quick scan showed it was broken. She had expected that. It wouldn't be the first time she'd broken her arm somewhere, though it was the first time from a fall and not because James charmed an arse load of Bludgers to hit her at once. Pain was supposed to be a good teacher or so he claimed all those years back. Prue was amazed that this was her first fall.

"It's really not a big deal," Prue tried to insist even as the red-haired woman tutted over the purpling skin and lumpiness. "It'll heal eventually so you don't have to waste magic or potions on it. Save your resources for something important." Potions and potions ingredients were not cheap, and Mrs. Weasley would no doubt need as much magic at her disposal thanks to her having to run a whole house every day. It was wasteful in Prue's opinion, when she had a natural healing factor. She could never get why the woman worried when  _everyone_  knew Prue wouldn't stay down for long. Prue's parents didn't care, do why did Mrs. Weasley?

"Dear, your well being is important to me," the Weasley woman said softly, tapping the wound lightly with her wand. In seconds, the somewhat lumpy area smoothed out and another sharp pain appeared where the break had been. Prue managed to only let out a hiss in response.

Mrs. Weasley was awesome. She could heal a broken bone with a tap of the wand! Prue didn't know anyone else who could do that.

"There will still be a dull ache for a few hours. I'm certain your healing will take care of that nasty bruise soon as well. I would like for you to at least wait an hour before you go back out to play, just to be certain your arm is truly okay."

Despite personally believing she was fine, Prue sighed and nodded. If only for Mrs. Weasley's peace of mind. Prue didn't care if she got hurt. If she was just going to heal from everything it wasn't a true problem for her. Hell, she managed to not die despite having a massive gash the size of her torso, causing her to bleed out months back. It was all the proof they needed.

Turning to Ginny, who had been standing off to the side, her shin torn up and bleeding as she avoided putting pressure on her left ankle, Prue gave a smile that hopefully made her feel better. The girl was crying still, no doubt feeling guilty. "See? I'm all good. I think you need more help than I do though." Ginny didn't have a healing factor. Ginny was fragile. Ginny could have died at the height they'd been at if she hadn't landed on Prue instead. Ginny did not have Prue's physical resilience that built up from years of training and exposure to pain.

A few minutes later, and Ginny too was released, though she kept rubbing at her shin and ankle where the dull aching would remain for several hours. Pain Relievers weren't a necessity in life, which was what made them more expensive to purchase or make. The Weasleys didn't have any of those to use so the kids had to avoid physical work until the injury no longer hurt. "Sorry, Prue," the girl mumbled. "The Thunderbolt was a lot harder to manoeuvers than I thought it would be."

"It's all fine. Ron did a lot worse the first time he tried riding it if you recall."

The boy had slammed into the barn, head first and concussed himself. Ginny's target had been a lot less dangerous to her health in the long run.

The reminder of her brother's own mistake, had the girl grinning again. "Yeah! It was great!"

* * *

Aaliyah set down three cups of hot water, the teapot rested in a gold and powder blue cosy on the table between she and her guests. Now, she didn't understand the reason for the visit since she didn't know exactly what Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would want to talk to her for.

Both looked awkward though and for a second she wondered at what was eating them up inside. And then she was reminded of the significant lack of red with them and had to ask, "Where is Prunella?" They didn't just leave the girl at home alone, did they? That would be the height of irresponsibility.

Lupin sighed. "She is basically why we are here. Molly Weasley had her go to the Burrow for the rest of the summer and she had a few choice words for us in regards to our past actions. Sirius got it a bit worse though considering everything."

"Ah," she hummed in understanding. "Because you abandoned your other daughter and made no attempt at connecting with her throughout her childhood. Yeah, Bella told me all about that already and was very disappointed."

That had both men sinking into their chairs even further. "Sirius has finally been made to see reason," said Lupin. "He now understands that his attitude was not right, especially to the extreme of treating her like a pariah every time they came near each other. And I have learned to stop expecting her to be exactly like James and Lily and to try and see her for herself.

"But considering how we never took a chance to really parent anyone… we aren't certain what to do. Especially since her parents will be out of Azkaban come December and any chance we had to help her has basically been ruined after eight months of inaction."

So they came to her because she'd been raising their other goddaughter for several years and obviously had experience.

"I would say the first necessity is letting her know that your home is always welcomed to her should she need it for whatever reason. It's supposed to be protected against everything or whatever. Let her know that you are willing to help her if she needs it, and I would put that as a very important requirement. She'll need to learn to trust you but you have to give her a reason to. Ignoring her for ten years is going to make this an uphill battle."

Sirius sighed, head falling into his palms. "We're doomed."

"Stop treating her like a burden. Ask after her health and how her day was whenever you see her. Engage her about her interests. If you give gifts, make it something she actually wants and not what  _you_  want. When the twat knackers get out of prison don't allow her to remain with them for too long. Who knows what they'll be getting up to once they're back in control of their funds. As for her contract as a professional Quidditch player, perhaps you should check that out to make certain the dimwits can't take the money she gets from it. They already get the money for people promoting their merchandise with her face and don't deserve to keep taking money that should solely be for her."

Half a billion Galleons had been lost on the two idiots and they would most likely have to get jobs again. A whole decade of relying on the money their daughter's face and name brought in was despicable. And Prunella being the only person with a steady and no doubt decent income, would certainly be appealing to them. They may just try to take her money for their own and not do anything ever again.

"I'd love to say that they wouldn't steal from their own daughter," Lupin began, "but they  _did_  try to withhold Bella's own money, so what do I really know about them anymore?"

Absolutely nothing if truth be told.

"Above all else, remember that in this instance, actions will speak louder than words," advised Aaliyah as she took a sip of tea. Chamomile was truly lovely. "After years of inaction, suddenly up and claiming you're going to be there all the time isn't going to inspire her to trust in you. You'll need to prove through your deeds that your are honest about making this up to her. Children are not stupid and they can tell when they aren't wanted or considered worth the effort. So it'll be difficult for all of you."

She didn't really have much else to help them with considering Bella and her sister were just vastly different children and their experiences made them polar opposites. And not every child could be reared exactly the same way because not all children were the same. Results would vary obviously.

The desire to change their attitudes was the second step. Realising they needed to change had been the first. Already they were on a better path than before and she could only hope that it worked out in the end instead of biting them in the arses.

Breaking habits was a messy business and from what she'd learned for the other girl, she was going to need all the help she could get. For more reasons than one.

* * *

**Tom! Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom!**

_Yes, Bella? Why the rush?_

Was it odd that Tom actually liked how excited she always was to speak with him?

**I was just watching the telly and something funny happened!**

_I'm sure you'll waste no time in telling me about it._

She never did.

 **So this character in the programme I was watching is kind of known for being**  
**a bit of a rebel. And she's super tough. And she beat someone with a sock full**  
**of cold butter, and I wanna do it too! Imagine using it on a bully![2]**

_A butter-filled sock caused actual damage?_

**Well yeah! When butter's cold it's super hard and can make some loud noise if**  
**you drop a stick of it. So put it in the sock and starting swinging it around and**  
**it should totally hurt! It looked fun!**

Tom had to wonder if Bella realised that had some violent tendencies underneath all that order and intelligence.

He was strangely proud even if he didn't understand fully.

_Only you would think that was fun._

**I will have you know that I have seen a lot of people talking about it online and**  
**they also thought it was funny.**

_Obviously you are a product of your generation._

**Now I wish you could see it. The show itself it great!**

_Maybe one day that'll come to pass, dear Bella._

While he was certain he wouldn't be freed from the Diary any time soon, he still maintained the hope that he would eventually gain freedom. And then of course he would find out what happened to Lord Voldemort, and if he was still around, Tom would absorb him. And then he'd be able to claim Slytherin Lordship without a chance of someone contesting his decision.

 **Yeah. I don't watch TV all that much but it was a boring night and I was not in**  
**the mood to play the piano or watch stuff on YouTube. Also I got a set amount**  
**of time I'm allowed to browse the internet each day anyway.**

_That is a good thing. It keeps you focused on things equally._

**Meh!**

* * *

Remus sighed as he tried to make Molly understand the importance of the situation. "I know we're not on the best of terms currently, and you are right to be cross with us, but we do need to speak with Prunella, especially about her contract with the Cannons and who has access to the money she earns from her employment under the team. We want to make certain James and Lily cannot take her money for themselves like they've been doing with everything else these past few years."

The red-haired woman sent the two men at her doorstep, and glare, before turning and yelling out their goddaughter's name. "Prue, dear, could you come downstairs for a moment?"

The child came hurtling down the stairs with a series of loud thumps, and leapt over the banister on the last flight, landing with ease and looking far happier than Remus had ever seen her be. Even when compared to her photos in the paper or the magazines. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley?" the girl asked, not even giving her godfathers her attention.

"The Blacks would like to speak with you about your contract with the Chudley Cannons to make certain only you are getting the cheques you earn."

The girl's gaze sharpened and she finally turned to look at them. Suddenly, Prunella seemed a lot smarter than normal. "Why would you consider this important?" she asked, sounding distrustful.

Sirius chose to answer then, looking sheepish and awkward. "The Potters have lost their social standing. The coin purse is going to be very dry when your parents are released. They might decide to rely solely on your income again and this is in both parts revenge against them, and a way to secure your rights. Also, with jobs of their own, they'll be out of the house more often."

Remus could see the wheels turning in the girl's head as she nodded slowly. "I actually never read the contract," she revealed. "James just insisted I sign it since he already read it and signed it. It only needed one parental signature too. I don't actually know all the details. I don't like reading."

That was not good. Judging by the look on Sirius' face, it was even worse than 'not good'.

Their first step to fixing this mess was going to take a lot longer than previously expected.

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

> **[1]** We all know magicals seem to alter the spelling of words for spells.  
>  So Lacrymosa is the proper spelling of the curse in this fic. The curse is  
>  a dangerous one to the caster and the victim. It forces the organs out  
>  of the body through the chest. Unfortunately, if the caster is not trained  
>  well or magically powerful enough to cast it, the curse will force the  
>  intended effect on the caster.
> 
> **[2]** This is a reference to iCarly and Sam with her butter sock.

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of summer gets closer and closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -So I actually am very uncomfortable with Lockhart as a character. I used  
> to think he was just an idiot who was luckily good at like one thing. Then I  
> re-read the books again this year, and took notes of everything that stood  
> out to me. Lockhart was very touchy with Harry specifically. Even going so  
> far as use only him to re-enact events from his books, and he had a habit  
> of pinning Harry a lot. That's creepy. My mom agrees with me. He screams  
> pedophile. So fair warning, Lockhart is a pedo in this.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

 

**I have learned to Jive and I think it's fun but finding music that fits the theme**   
**is really difficult.**

Like seriously, it seemed like only a specific kind of music truly went with the style of dance.

Bella wasn't too fond of that part, but the moves themselves were awesome.

_I know a basic Waltz, so I would be of no assistance to you when it comes to dancing._   
_I have only had a reason to dance twice in my life, and they were at the Malfoy Yule_   
_Ball._

Tom came across as a bit... perturbed? Put out maybe?

Did he really not like it when he didn't know everything under the sun? He was only human, and also only sixteen with half a century spent in a book. How could he expect himself to know everything? And what person ever had the ability to learn everything? Life was simply too short to even attempt such a thing.

**Maybe one day I'll get the chance to teach you. You like to act as if you're a**   
**quick learner. We could put that to the test.**

Bella liked to think she was good enough to instruct someone on the basics.

_If I ever get out of this book, I'll hold you to that offer, dear Bella._

**Cool.**

Was there a way to get her friend out of his book?

**I am glad to say that the dance classes have greatly affected my skating in**   
**terms of choreography. And story. Both go hand in hand when figure skating**   
**is involved. If your Presentation has no story, it'll fall flat. And I feel like I've**   
**expanded my world a bit. Some thing make me a bit uncomfortable since my**   
**age is a bit too young to delve into those, but I have ideas ahead of time and**   
**maybe one day I will feel comfortable enough to venture in those directions.**

She was twelve and had experience no sexual anything yet despite the claim that girls were awakened to their sexuality at ages even younger than her own. As such, she felt decidedly uncomfortable doing sex-related things.

_Are you referring to the mood surrounding the Tango? I know enough about it to know_   
_it is considered a very... intimate dance._

Tom was good, she'd give him that. He picked up on things really quickly.

Sometimes she wondered just how smart the teen truly was. Even being in a new time period, he picked up on things rather quickly. It was impressive.

Bella could on marvel at the power of his mind.

**Basically. And the Viennese Waltz. Both feel similar to me and while I got the**   
**moves down and stuff, I was uncomfortable. And the thing is I took the time**   
**to educate myself on sex when I was nine. I had questions, Aaliyah didn't feel**   
**like answering and told me to get a dictionary, so I did. I know the ins and the**   
**outs of it but am ridiculously squicked for some reason. And a sexual Tango is**   
**not the only kind there is too! But it's the one that comes to mind first.**

_You are **what**?_

Once again, Bella forgot that he wasn't a Gen Z kid like her.

Tom could probably blend in very well if he put forth enough effort. He gave off that casual air even through only writing, and made her feel comfortable at all times. That was a dangerous skill because it could certainly get someone to talk especially if they didn't want to.

And Tom had been a Slytherin when he was in school. He knew the game.

Bella often forgot that Tom wasn't like her. Kudos to him.

Though he'd only ever truly blend in when he was spouting off memes and slang. Bella had a lot of work ahead of her.

**Squick - Disgusted. It's become pretty popular in recent years. Now everyone**   
**has something that squicks them, but it doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Like**   
**BDSM. A lot of people are squicked by it but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.**   
**If handled properly it can be like any other sexual adventure apparently. But**   
**the difference is knowing your limits and communication or so I've learned.**

_What is BDSM?_

**According to our companion when in need, Wikipedia: "BDSM is a variety of**   
**often erotic practices or role-playing involving bondage, discipline, dominance**   
**and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics.**   
**Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people**   
**who do not consider themselves as practicing BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM**   
**community or subculture is usually dependent upon self-identification and**   
**shared experience."**

**"The term of "BDSM" is interpreted as a combination of the abbreviations B/D**   
**_(Bondage and Discipline)_ , D/s  _(Dominance and submission)_ , and S/M _(Sadism_**   
**_and Masochism)_."**

**I can't believe I somehow got us to this point. omg I am mortified. This is both**   
**of our faults.**

A twelve year old girl was explaining sex stuff to a sixteen year old boy.

It just wasn't normal. Her mind needed a thorough hose down.

This wasn't her job!

When she'd agreed to teach Tom about the world of today, she hadn't signed on for Sex Ed.

_That was more than I was expecting. I think we can let that topic die and focus on_   
_other, more important matters. Anything at all._

Right he was! Good man!

**Sure thing! I got a new video game and I'm dying to tell you about it!**

_Spare no details. Take as long as you wish. Please._

* * *

**Bella,**

**I'm doing a lot better since coming to Blaise's home. My summer did not**   
**start off well and I wish I was in a better position to do something about**   
**that, but I'm not. Blaise's mum has been great like always. She's not the**   
**most motherly person in the world, but she does care about children and**   
**doesn't wish harm upon them. So she has made certain I have received**   
**only the best care. I've been exposed to more sun than I've ever wanted**   
**to be.**

**I don't want you to worry for me. The effects have diminished a good bit**   
**by now. I'm certain you can postulate exactly what went down with my**   
**grandfather, so I will not elaborate. Just know that I'm fine now and will**   
**be better before school starts.**

**Hoping your summer is going well,**   
**Theo.**

**~.O.~**

**Theo,**

**If there even comes a time where I will have the power to do it, I am**   
**going to take a blunt spoon to your grandfather's dick and I'm going to**   
**castrate him with it. And I don't make threats idly. I fully intend to see**   
**this arsehole suffer for what he's done to you.**

**And don't worry, I want Neville's grandmother to suffer to. It's like all**   
**super old people are just terrible in the wizarding world or something.**   
**I can't believe no one has noticed anything. Or is this just another case**   
**of enough money was thrown around to get people to shut up and look**   
**they other way? I wouldn't put it past anyone. Not after everything I've**   
**learned as of late.**

**Blaise's mum sounds awesome. Quick question: Is she really called the**   
**Black Widow? I ask this because there is a muggle comic character who**   
**uses the title of Black Widow and she is an expert assassin. So all I can**   
**think about when Lady Zabini comes to mind, is Black Widow the spy,**   
**assassin, and fighter.**

**Take all the time you need to recover. Expect a gift in the mail for your**   
**birthday soon.**

**Continuously baffled by wizarding stupidity and wishing you a good one,**   
**Bella.**

**~.O.~**

**Bella,**

**Blaise's mum is called the Black Widow in some circles. It is a double**   
**entendre because of her skin cololur and the fact that her spouses all**   
**disappear or die mysteriously, leaving her more wealthy than before.**   
**Rita Skeeter was the one to coin the term actually, and his mum finds**   
**it amusing, which is why she hasn't done anything to Skeeter yet.**

**I never considered that muggles would have comics too. Or is this a**   
**case of muggles developing it first and magicals stealing the idea? I**   
**wouldn't be shocked. It's been a trip learning how much magicals do**   
**steal from muggles.**

**If you ever find yourself within touching distance of my grandfather,**   
**I want you to run the other way. Do not even attempt to get revenge**   
**for me. He is a depraved man and I wouldn't want his twisted ideas**   
**getting anywhere near you. The desires of yours is appreciated, but**   
**not worth it, trust me.**

**Theo.**

* * *

"SUCCESS!"

Deborah smirked, watching as Bella threw her arms up int he air and began to do a little jig on the ice. And after reaching one of her many goals, she had to give the girl her due respect.

Steadily over the years, Bella had been building up her physical strength in various areas. There were many manoeuvers in figure skating that required precise control of the body, and Bella hadn't been strong enough to perform any of them.

Now though, she'd finally managed her Y Spiral without aid. Her core and legs were strong enough now, that she could left her right leg all the way above her head, and hold it there. All without using her hands for balance.

Of course this was all well and good, but the child wasn't done yet. She now had to perfect the move.

Balancing on a single blade was difficult enough. In a precarious position, it was even harder. And unfortunately, she was thrown off balance because she wasn't supporting herself with a hand or arm, so she wobbled as her weight lost its even distribution. Still, she was on the right track and managed to hold the position for the required amount of time so it would definitely count in a real competition.

And to think, Bella's next goal was cantilever and then the hydroblade. And she wanted to fit a bent-leg layover Camel Spin somewhere in there as well.

Sometimes Deborah felt like she should have done singles instead of synchro because singles looked like much more fun if she was being honest in her heart of hearts.

"Do it again!" Aaliyah yelled, not letting her charge take even a bit of a break lest she lose her energy.

Deborah smiled fondly at the pair, happy and proud to be a part of their lives.

* * *

The last days of summer were winding down. The last weeks had come upon them. Bella's last Ballroom class was coming up soon and then she'd be going to another class altogether. Aaliyah had been talking about Flamenco recently and Bella was intrigued after watching some YouTube videos. She was still partial to Tap though.

On the side, she'd been taking some time every night to practice the sheet music she'd gotten for Disney. So far, Tale As Old As Time was her favourite simply because of how soothing it sounded on the piano. And she might have lamented the fact that she wasn't the best of singers, but Amara more than made up for what Bella lacked vocally.

Aoife also seemed to enjoy piano. She would curl up at the foot of the keyboard and purr so long as Bella wasn't going mad on the keys. Meaning no rock arrangements.

Her subscribers had been getting more videos of Aoife and there was like a side fandom dedicated to the feline alone. Enough for people to literally send her birthday presents too. And the spoiled Kneazle never used any of the cat beds some of Bella's fans had sent in. Though she did like the feathers and bells. Bella felt a bit bad but cats were picky and people should understand that by now.

And the most unfair part was that Aoife was adorable and would give Bella this look of utter betrayal if she dared to take the new bells away. And so she'd end up sitting there all evening and even well into the night, listening as her pet batted the damn things around and tried to play innocent when she was scolded. But badminton at night was not something even Bella could get behind.

While they weren't exactly cats, Kneazles sure as hell liked to act like them, even down to the being a pain in the arse at all hours of the evening while sleeping the entire damn day away.

On a note that had nothing to do with felines of any kind, was Tom. Bella had been in possession of Tom's old school diary for eight months and in that time frame she had learned a lot about not only certain topics, but him as well.

Tom was an orphaned Halfblood born on 31 December 1926. He'd grown up in the middle of London, greatly disliked by the matron of his orphanage. His genius was perceived as devilry and he was exorcised multiple times, though since there were no demons possessing him, nothing had happened. And muggles didn't have the power to perform exorcisms anyway, not that they knew that.

He hadn't gone into detail but the exorcisms of the 30s had been very different from the ones done today apparently. She had looked up some things and got an idea of her own from the information gathered. It wasn't good and it made her angry on his behalf.

Tom was a Parselmouth like Bella. He was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin through his mother or so he claimed. He was a bit… cocksure, but it wasn't without anything to back it up. He was actually very intelligent and she was certain if he had a body and a core, he'd be very good and performing magic. He seemed the type to take his education very seriously and most likely learned everything as soon as he could so as not to be disadvantaged by his peers at any opportunity.

In Bella's opinion, Tom was way more mature than a sixteen year old would be. She'd met tonnes of people of varying ages thanks to her profession and Tom acted like an old man, even if he hated being called one or compared to one. That was why she felt it her duty to expose him to the life of a teenager in the 2000s. She'd get him using slang and loosening up eventually, it would only take time. Being around her enough would have an impact though, she was certain.

He was very snarky and charming. His opinions on certain subjects were enlightening in many ways. Tom, even if his book was in the future, had been born and had raised himself in the past. So his views came from the exposure he'd gotten all those years ago and while he'd had time to really think about certain topics, others remained fairly firm in his mind and he would not relinquish them any time soon.

Tom had made comments on Dark Magic. Passing comments that made it seem trivial. Bella knew that if a Gryffindor had heard Tom call it, 'just Dark Magic' they'd probably go mad and accuse of him of being utterly evil to the bone. Tom didn't seem evil though, and Bella was certain that magic itself really couldn't be evil because it couldn't have its own feelings meaning it couldn't have intent. And it was intent that determined whether a living being was evil or not.

Granted, she didn't know what all of Tom's intentions were, but in the months they'd gotten to know one another, he hadn't once tried to coerce her into doing rituals, or studying up on subjects the Ministry declared dangerous and evil. He hadn't tried to engage her in moral disputes about the usefulness of Dark Magic. He was obviously in favour of it, but didn't try pushing it down her throat, which was appreciated. She hated it when people did things like that in regards to any topic of discussion.

For the most part, he'd been pretty tame for a Slytherin. She didn't know if that meant he was planning something that would take a long time to come to fruition, or if he was being genuine, but she liked him as the person she'd gotten to know. Tom was another friend of hers. He listened, he learned, and he questioned in return. He participated.

He treated her interests seriously and didn't think she was incapable simply because she was twelve or a girl. He paid attention to every little detail that passed between them and remembered things form months ago.

Tom was nice. And considering some of the people she'd been exposed to in her twelve years of life, if he was a bad person, he was more tolerable than the other bad people she'd met.

* * *

Hermione was sad to leave Germany behind, but she was doing so with a head full of new knowledge. And that knowledge had helped her formulate some thoughts and plans in mind.

If she wanted to become a respected leader in a society that never voted in a muggleborn for the position of Minister for Magic, she needed to study up on the different governments and how they worked. She then had to rely upon the examples of muggleborns like herself who managed to obtain high positions of power across the world.

Already she had a folder filled with information on people who used to exist, and those who still existed.

Unfortunately, across the magical communities all over the world, there were only a few handfuls of muggleborn leaders to study. Half of them seemed like decent people and the other half were just...

She needed to know their victories as well as their failures. She needed to know what made them tick. What made people feel confident in them? What did they lose along the way to make people lose confidence in them?

History was like one big lesson book and it certainly taught some valuable lessons. Hermione, if she wanted to succeed, needed to absorb those lessons and build up a strategy better than any of the muggleborns before her.

She'd consult Bella later on to see what she had to say about it. And they could also discuss her plans for the Squib issue.

* * *

"We're going to Diagon Alley this morning, kids!" Mrs. Weasley had announced at breakfast. That had left them all scrambling to get ready so they could head out in a timely manner. The woman seemed very eager to go, though none of them understood why. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

Mr. Weasley had the day off and was coming with them for the sake of the trip and also to keep track of the million kids going along.

Before she could go and get ready though, Mrs. Weasley had pulled Prue aside and told her, "We're going to get you new clothes, dear. Yours are far too small now and they'll just hurt later on, the tighter they get. You'll have to pay attention to your sizing if you plan on purchasing more clothes for yourself later on."

At the thought of finally getting something not too baggy or too tight, Prue grinned. She also made certain to pack a bag of her clothes that didn't fit, just cleaned by Mrs. Weasley too, so she could leave them at the junk shop where they would be put up for resale at far cheaper prices than they originally had gone for. There was no point in keeping them if she wouldn't use them anymore.

The travel by Floo was quick and painless like always. The soot got everywhere though, .leaving Prue choking especially hard because she'd managed to inhale some. It was like glorified dirt on the tongue with a hint of stale air. Mrs. Weasley was awesome about it though because she had her trusty brush out and ready to dust them all off the moment they stepped through the green flames. She always came prepared for everything. Prue wouldn't be surprised if she had a tent in her handbag, plus all the things necessary to live on the road if it came down to it.

Prue wasn't even in the Alley for five seconds before a camera flashed in her face, making her blink. It had been months since someone had gotten close enough to her in a public place, to shove a camera so far into her personal space. The flashing lights weren't new per se, but they weren't an often thing in recent months obviously.

There were white dots flickering behind her eyelids and she groaned at the strain in her eyeballs. Photos weren't as fun as they used to be. Especially when reporters only wanted to use her photo to smear her name alongside James and Lily's names. Back when everyone thought they were the best family around, life had felt a lot more simple even if it wasn't behind closed doors.

"Prue! Prue! What do you think about Hogwarts' newest Defence Professor, Award-Winning Author, Gilderoy Lockhart?!" someone demanded from her right, holding up a notepad and a quill.

"Do you have an opinion on the new Muggle Management Laws that are being pushed in the Wizengamot?" a woman shouted from her left, her bug eye glasses flashing with the artificial lights.

The questions continued in a hurried fashion as she was trapped against the side of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Who do you think would be a better replacement for Albus Dumbledore should he get sacked for negligence?"

"How did it make you feel when your sister was sorted into Slytherin, coming from a family of Gryffindors yourself?"

"What is your opinion on the current state of affairs surrounding the containment at Azkaban?"

"Should we expect an even more impressive turn out form you in the upcoming Quidditch season?"

She could hear Mrs. Weasley's breathing quicken in annoyance, so Prue did what she did best.

She put on a fake smile and said in her most friendly tone, "I've never heard of Gilderoy Lockhart before so he must be new to Britain. As for Arthur Weasley's desired additions to the legislation on Muggle Management, he has my full support. Filius Flitwick would be a good Headmaster because he seems very fair. Dorea Black was a Slytherin and was a great woman from what I have learned, proving the stereotype of them is over-dramatised, so I don't know why anyone would care if someone was sorted into Slytherin. It doesn't matter to me. I find the use of Dementors inhumane because there is no cure for the effects they cause and they cannot be destroyed. I intend to give next season my all.

"No more questions, thank you."

She turned and stalked off before they could say any more, the entire Weasley brood following her steps. Ron whistled. "You handle them like a pro, mate. They were just gaping as you walked away and everything!"

"Practice," was her simple answer. So. Many. Years. Of. Practice. Prue didn't often pay attention to what people around her were saying if she didn't care for them as people, but the press were a bit different. It was best to be as frank and succinct as possible with them so they could spin as little tales as possible from whatever you fed them.

The trip through Gringotts was quick and painless. The Weasleys had to cram into a different cart since their vault was on a different side of the bank's caving system. Prue promised to meet back with them at the surface, and also felt a but better being alone because it meant no awkward moments in front of her vault.

Prue's Trust Vault had been considerably filled before she transferred everything to a new vault of her own that was connected to her payments from Quidditch. As a precaution, neither James or Lily would be able to get access to her personal funds, and since a lump sum was transferred from the family vault to her Trust every year until she turned seventeen, they could do nothing about it.

Thank Merlin for old ancestors insisting upon taking care of their children!

If she was correct, Belladonna also had a Trust Vault of her own and that meant a considerable amount would be taken and given to them both every year until they reached their majority.

She had never known their level of wealth because honestly, there had never been a moment of worry. However, her parents had to pay almost four hundred million Galleons after the trial. They'd been of the most wealthy families in Great Britain for years and that very sudden drop in funds had left lasting damage on their standing alone.

Prue knew they hadn't been near a billion Galleons. Probably closer to half a billion, and with ⅘ of that gone, plus the amount given to their children every year as tradition demanded, there wouldn't be a lot left when the two twits were released from prison.

Prue recalled her entire childhood with intense clarity. Neither James nor Lily had jobs. With their amount of wealth from their status as well as advertising using Prue's name and having her take place in product endorsements, it wasn't necessary for them to. If their wealth had stayed where it was, several new generations could have come and gone without ever having to lift a finger.

After making certain her own hard-earned money could not be used by her parents, with the help of Black and Lupin of course, Prue had felt secure. Even if she had to go back to them unfortunately, she was content to know that they wouldn't be able to take from that.

The contract with the Cannons had been a mess! Black's signature managed to override some agreements in the fine print, and his name was added in for good measure to make the manager of the team cower a bit. James wouldn't be happy when he learned of the amendments made without is permission. She was kond of looking forward to it.

She might not be able to do anything about the contracts signed by her parents that allowed businesses to use her name and likeness for anything so long as they paid up, but in this she could handle herself, and that was good enough. Technically, she wasn't personally making that money. Quidditch money was through her own hard work and only she deserved to touch it.

"Vault 697!" the Goblin guiding her, Rhadschach, announced. Prue handed over her key as they stepped from the cart, and thanked him as he fiddled with the old, iron locking mechanism.

Prue was quick to get it done and over with. She'd paid a bit extra to have her vault's contents sectioned off properly for easy collecting. Galleons were stored by the thousand in little, enchanted bags. Prue grabbed four, slipped them into her pocket, and headed back out.

Once they reached the top floor, Prue brought her money to one of the tellers and purchased a golden card. This was their newest addition to the bank. Everything taken from a vault was magically corrected on their files. You could then exchange the gold with the Goblins and get a fancy piece of thin gold int he sharp of a business card, that had the same amount of money on it. This idea was taken from watching the muggles do business, which was pretty brilliant in her opinion.

The golden card had the equivalent of four thousand Galleons on it, and she could use that at shops for an easier time shopping. The shop would swipe the card on a Goblin-made piece of machinery that had a serial number magically connecting to the shop owner's vault. Exchanges were made that way more often now for preferred ease of use.

The Weasleys came up a few moments later, looking much happier than when they went down. Prue said nothing about it despite knowing why it would be so.

They traipsed out into the busy alley together, ready for a day of shopping. Prue was about to get a new wardrobe and she was actually excited! So long as there were no skirts or dresses or ribbons or bows or ruffles of any kind, she'd be right as rain.

She also needed several pairs of dungarees. That was the first necessity.

* * *

"There's a lot more people here today than there usually is," Bella remarked as they stepped around the large groups of people who seemed to be gathering  _everywhere_  and taking up with little space the crooked street of Diagon Alley had. The whole street was very narrow and she wondered why people thought it was a good idea to just stand around literally do no shopping of any sort.

Aaliyah, who had decided to come along for the day of shopping, was looking around with veiled interest. Did not often come along when Bella traveled to the alley, because she did have other responsibilities to see to. Today she had come along though, wanting to acquaint herself with the culture more. Mostly, she just ended up walking between Bella and whoever was on her free side, obviously not trusting the dodgy looking people littering the walkways. Aaliyah had her mother bear moments.

The dark-skinned woman stood out not just because of the three-piece, maroon suit she wore, but because of her height which was only added to by the heels on her feet. It was like the parting of the Red Sea as people scrambled to get out of her way, no doubt because of the stern expression on her face practically warning them from coming any nearer as they walked. The click clack of her shoes against the cobblestone road was almost ominous in a way.

"Flourish and Blotts is packed and there's a large queue outside," the woman remarked, sounding disapproving. "Some poncy looking blond is doing a book signing apparently. A lot of witches are queueing up for someone who looks like his face has been lifted ten times. Unsuccessfully might I add."

Bella snorted into her hand. She couldn't see that far because she was very short, but the image that came to mind was hilarious! The only problem was that she needed to purchase the school books for the second year curriculum and if people were literally blocking the only entrance to the shop, how was she going to get her things? They didn't have a lot of free time on hand to just go wherever when they wanted. If they couldn't get her things it would fall to her godfathers to get them, or Bella would have to place an owl order.

"Stick with me, kiddo. You want to get a manual for that ball thing, right? We can do that first."

Oh yeah! Bella had decided to get some instructions on how to use the Omnispecta because while she got the general idea, the make was very confusing to her. It looked too much like a Magic 8 Ball.

Said objects were only sold in limited places in Diagon Alley. They were apparently very expensive so no average bloke would get his hands on one.

Once she got what she wanted and whichever shop was nearest, they would then have to get her school supplies.

"How can I help you?" the woman behind the counter at  **Instruments of the 21st Century** , asked the moment the little bell above the door rang. The place was rather gloomy in appearance and the worker looked as equally gloomy. The dark room did nothing for her pale complexion and equally dark hair.

"Hi. My friend got me this for my birthday, but the specifics on how to use it are a bit lost on me," Bella said, holding up the black orb so the woman could see it. "I get the general idea, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it, you know?"

That got her a low whistle. "We don't many of those beauties. They don't come cheap, so be careful with it. They can't be repaired, but even by magic."

Wow.

The woman pulled an identical orb out from under the table and held it aloft in her left hand. "First you feel around it and search for the place with the small indentation. That indentation should be facing directly upward." Her right thumb then crooked a bit. "Push it in with your thumb and within five seconds, the surface of the orb with reflect everything around it, like the screen of a telly in 360 if that makes sense. It'll record for up to ten minutes, with no sound, and then if you press the button again and hold it for five seconds, it'll project the full transparent but colourful image into the space around you. Best used in dark rooms. A new recording erases prior footage. To stop a recording, simply press the indentation twice rapidly."

Seconds later, she pressed the indent twice and then snapped her fingers to put out the various lights around the room. It was exactly like an old time projector, but with colour. And it was pretty cool to see a replay of the woman's explanation even if it was without sound.

"Awesome! Is there some type of required management for it?"

"Just don't drop it," the woman said as the lights flickered back into existence. "It's fine on its own."

"Thanks!"

After that visit, they traipsed around the alley to get other ingredients, and Bella took the time to subscribe to several mail-ordering catalogues so she could get things while at Hogwarts. She'd seen other students doing it in the Common Room and had decided that she wanted to get stuff too. She wasn't old enough to go to Hosgmeade so this would have to do.

And no, contrary to what some might believe, she didn't get the Honeyduke's catalogue despite desperately wanting to. She had more self-control than that! Bella knew that if she gave herself the option to cheat, she would. So it was best to simply not have the option available.

Finally, after quite some time and the fervent hoping that things would chill out eventually, they had to make their way to Flourish and Blotts and faced the growing mob of fans there to see their idol or whatever. Things did not chill out. It was like a warzone without the casualties as they tried to make their way through the crowd and Bella had to hold on to her guardian's clothing as she relentlessly tore through the throngs of people.

They, by some miracle that had been unforseen, had managed to make it into the shop, shoving past people left and right and getting hissed swears in return. Aaliyah held no compunction over throwing a two finger salute this way and that. She was great.

"The entire second year curriculum, please?" the woman asked once they made it to the till. The worker looked haggard and completely done with his day so far. He was sweating and his boxy glasses were slipping down his nose. And it was  _still_  morning. The screaming witches and a few wizards sprinkled in here and there must have been hell on his ear drums and overall sanity.

He plopped two enormous stacks down on the counter and Bella's jaw dropped. "The hell?" Who needed that many books when literally a lot of their books had the entire seven years of curriculum in them?

Aaliyah leaned over the one stack and began shuffling through the books. "What a feckin cockwomble," her guardian mumbled with an obvious eye roll. She sent Bella a look. "That blond twat is the author of these seven books on the left."

The man behind the counter nodded. "He's the new DADA professor. They are all for his class."

How were the students expected to get through seven books for one class? Who thought that was a smart idea?

Grabbing  **Wandering with Werewolves** , Bella flipped it open to a page, and wrinkled her nose at the words within. It was too filled with purple prose. Enough to make her look away at the end of each paragraph just to collect her thoughts. It read more like the diary entry of someone trying to pretend that they were an adventurer, instead of an informative book on how to defend against magical creatures. And it was just wrong altogether.

"Werewolves are physically stronger than humans and notoriously difficult to hold back even  _with_  magic," she observed aloud and without a care for who was listening. "A lone wizard missing his wand, would not be able to physically hold back a Werewolf, nor would he be able to pin it down when it is perfectly healthy. The snout is elongated enough to reach your face even if you managed to hold it back at arms length and he proclaims himself 201cm. tall, and the average Werewolf is 245cm. meaning there is no way he'd be able to maneouvre himself where he kept it at bay physically, while also keeping his head and neck away from the teeth with only that small difference in height between them. It's a lie. My source? My Werewolf godfather."

Aaliyah shook her head. "She'll get a tutor, but she sure as hell won't be taking that class. Leave that twat's shite out of our purchase, please?"

There was never a moment where Bella had to wonder why she adored her guardian. Aaliyah kept proving herself time and time again. She was great and just got it.

The man at the counter smirked. "Wise decision. I've read all the books- was a Ravenclaw meself, and found three of them supposedly take place on the exact same day. But they're all also in order of how they happened to him.  **Holidays with Hags** ,  **Voyages with Vampires** , and  **Year with the Yeti**  are the third, fifth, and seventh books in the collection thus far. All of them take place in the same week, but in completely different parts of the world. One location doesn't even exist. And he supposedly sustains injury in  **Voyages** , that didn't get healed until the end of the week which was the end of the book, but in the other two books, he was perfectly healthy all week through."

A fraud. And no one else seemed to notice?

The transaction was completed without any more talking, and just when they thought they'd finished, a loud and quite obnoxious voice called out, "It can't be Prunella Potter!"

There was perfect silence for a mere moment, but then the entire shop erupted into chaos and Bella finally spotted her twin who was suddenly shoved up to the front of the crowd of people flooding before the Lockhart fellow. Her red hair was pulled back in its signature plait and she was looking less peaky than she had at the end of the term. Her face was fuller and there were no bags under her eyes.

Lockhart, who really did look like a blond ponce with perfectly straight white teeth and annoying fluffy hair, yanked her up beside him on the upraised platform he'd been using to keep himself above his fans. He was a stunning example of how she should  _never_  be with her growing fame. She wanted to ram his head into a bookshelf. There were plenty around for her to choose from.

In fact, she'd never even seen Prue act this way with the fans she's had at school. She was far more reserved and people seemed less likely to mob her for attention. It was like they knew distance was a good thing and to not be rude. A big difference in respect was shown in comparison.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is!" Lockhart announced with a voice that made Bella want to scream. And his hand, that had been resting on Prue's shoulder, began to slide down slowly, making the brunette's eyes narrow in suspicion.

Bella pulled her Omnispecta from her pocket and felt around for the little indentation. Once found, she pressed it and then plopped the ball into Aaliyah's hand and gestured for her to hold it up to get the entire room. This would not only be a good chance to practice how to use her birthday gift, but if what she thought was what was happening, it could be vital later on. She practically affixed her eyes back onto her twin and the creepy man touching her.

"When young Prunella stepped foot into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase a copy of my autobiography Magical Me - which coincidentally is spending its third week at the very top of the Witch Weekly #1 Best Sellers list, a new record for any work actually, might I add - she had no idea that she would in fact be leaving with my entire collection of works, including the rarely published but no less important short story of my time with the Bandon Banshee, free of charge as a gift of good will between us!"

God, he even  _spoke_  in purple prose! Bella was certain that that had been only one sentence!

On another less noticeable note, was the fact that while someone shoved a towering stack of books into Prue's arms, Lockhart's hand wandered even lower than before and was now resting precariously a little behind her right hip when it most certainly  _shouldn't_  be.

While they had never even talked before, Bella wouldn't stand for it!

Bella immediately shoved herself through the crowd without hesitation, stomping up to the front and grabbing Prue's free hand while putting on a charming smile. "Your generosity is noted and much appreciated, but we are running a tad late for our lunch today, sir. Thank you for your time."

She proceeded to yank the other girl away from the man's grabby hands, ignoring the flashes from the various cameras as they went.

They trailed back to the very front of the shop where Aaliyah stood by, and a few familiar faces that owned red hair, stood not too far away from her.

The Weasley twins waved in greeting, though both looked somber.

Bella only fully released Prue when she was certain the audience was focusing on Lockhart again.

"You know," she began, looking at Prue, "I have horrible vision and need to wear corrective lenses directly on my eyeballs in order to see clearly, but even my poor vision did not dream up the fact that his hand was on your arse."

The entire group of Weasleys and Aaliyah all gasped, and Prue shifted around uncomfortably on her feet. She gave a short bob of the head but said nothing.

"Fucking creep," said Aaliyah, glaring over the crowd at where Lockhart had seated himself once more. She then pressed the indent on the orb twice so the recording would cut off and Bella smirked. It was now proof!

"If you feel like pressing charges at some point, I got that recorded, there are memories that can be studied in depth, and soon enough, photos published in the Prophet that will pull up some questions."

Prue seemed to be at a loss for words. "I… I don't think I should- you know. That's not- no one would believe it. Do you see how much they like him?"

She was correct unfortunately. Rabid fans would ignore even the worst shite from their favourite idol. There were still hardcore Potter fans who refused to believe James and Lily were horrible people who shouldn't be allowed to parent anyone. Also, Lockhart was a man and in general, they got away with more horrible shite and weren't held to the same standards of perfection as women. Suckish, but totally true.

But… if they had someone on their side who could cast suspicions on the dickhead. Bella's mind was already working through plots.

Prue handed off her collection of books to a little redhead she was certain was another Weasley. "You can have them. I'm not giving him any of my money."

Aaliyah snorted. "Good thing," she said, drawing the attention of the others. "The man at the counter says there are discrepancies between the books and apparently three take place in the same week, he attained a major injure in the one book that wasn't healed until later on, but on the same dates in the other two books he was in perfect health. Some locations don't even exist. He sounds like a moneygrabber and the fact he's making every student buy his whole collection of books no matter the year they are in, says a lot."

The twins shared a dark look between them but said nothing.

As for Bella, her mind had come up with something good and she pulled Prue aside to give them a bit of privacy. "Okay, so I know you probably don't like him and I honestly get why and don't fault you for it, but Sirius has proven to be very good at getting revenge and plotting, and he knows Rita Skeeter. She has a wide enough following to start the ball rolling if she just starts to casually make comments and observations about blondie over there. It'll cast suspicions on his creepy arse and might even win you back some favour in the eyes of the public."

The ginger-haired girl didn't look necessarily convinced and while Bella wasn't sure if it was because of Sirius or Rita's involvement, she didn't care. Some fraud was going to be teaching her class in the upcoming year, and he literally sexually assaulted a twelve year old girl in broad daylight, and no one said shite about it.

"Just think about it. And if you decide that you want to expose him, I'll get Sirius to help. He and Remus did come over recently to ask my guardian for advice on how to mend their broken relationship with you. This could be a start. I know Remus is trying and I think Sirius has somehow pulled his head head from his arse."

"Mrs. Weasley gave them an earful," said Prue with a shrug. "She managed to shake the house even through a Floo Call. It was awesome."

Well that would explain it. Someone else who had a greater hand in raising Prunella, had finally spoken up and she had most likely been relentless.

"Just think about it, and if you decide to do something, tell me. Let me say this frankly, he did this in a crowd and he's going on to teach children. Other girls our ages and younger. And he'll have chances for one on one time with them." He just screamed sexual predator to Bella.

Prue looked uncomfortable but nodded slowly.

They ended up parting ways around lunchtime, and Bella felt a bit sad that her first true interaction with her twin, had to be soiled by some creepy arse man putting his hands where they were not welcome. And she felt a little bad that they might end up using this to get negative press on him while getting positive press on Prue, but two birds with one stone wasn't wrong, she reasoned with herself.

Maybe this way people could realise that Prue was a twelve year old girl and not a super duper mature adult of forty-plus years and shouldn't be held accountable for her trashy parents' actions.

"That was a good thing you did there, kiddo," said Aaliyah the moment they reached the car.

"I was in no way compelled to speak with her today, until I saw him just yank her around like a ragdoll. And then his hand started to move lower and I wasn't going to stand by. Don't know how others didn't even see it happen while it was bloody happening!"

"People are ignorant and don't want to acknowledge the faults of their idols."

True that. Damn.

* * *

"He did  _what_?" Remus demanded, looking more feral than he ever had before. His golden eyes dilated in anger and focus. It made Bella shiver a bit from how unexpectedly dangerous he suddenly seemed.

"Yeah," Bella confirmed. "So I need Sirius to get Rita Skeeter on it and have her start tearing him apart. I don't think Prunella feels comfortable bringing it up, but I have no problem with ruining his life."

Sirius, who was sitting at the table, looking completely baffled, was nodding along absentmindedly. "I just can't believe someone would do that in public."

"I can," said Aaliyah as she set down the teapot so they could drink in peace. Her jaw was firmly set and she looked livid. "Something similar happened to me many times when I was younger. Never underestimate the ability of older white men being able to do illegal shite in broad daylight because they know they won't get caught or held accountable for it." Her words rang with bitterness that was unnerving.

Bella had yet to experience anything like that, but now she was feeling wary of things like meet and greets and interviews now just because of the possibility of being groped and sexually assaulted.

"I think you would benefit from getting another parental figure for Prue," said Aaliyah diplomatically. "Unfortunately, Remus cannot adopt a child because of his condition, so he cannot be her other parental figure. You had me become Bella's fourth parent in order to make it an even fight between us and the twat knackers. Prue would benefit from having a fourth parent as well. And I'm thinking of the Weasley woman."

"Um- I don't think Molly would be able to-"

"She probably would do it," Aaliyah insisted. "And you can even set up a stipend to help for added expenses that come from having another mouth to feed."

Bella nodded along. "The Weasley Twins told me that Prue leaves money laying around to pay for her way when she's there, because James and Lily never actually asked if she could stay over. This way Prue keeps her own money, the Weasleys receive proper compensation that should have been given ages ago, and Prue has somewhere to stay when Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 get out of prison."

The ascending eyebrows of the two men reminded her that she hadn't shared that piece of information yet. There was more to Prunella than what was on the surface.

"Mrs. Weasley seems like a good person and Prue obviously likes her, so maybe you should talk to her about it. If she really doesn't like the Potters, she'll probably jump at the chance to get Prue away from them in any legal way she can."

Bella could only hope at least.

The quickest way to a more healthy growth as an individual, was to prune off the damaging parts first, and that meant James and Lily had to lose all influence over Prue.

* * *

Amara's parents were hard workers. Despite having muggle jobs that had them almost overworked all the time, they still found time to stay connected to the magical world. With this thought in mind, Bella didn't hesitate in asking Aarti Singh, "Do you know if there are any Squib psychiatrists?" She'd visited Amara's house this time, and they were busy waiting for dinner.

The woman, who had been preparing her curry, extra hot, sent Bella a look. "Are you in need of therapy again?"

"Not me, But I think some of my friends need some help because they've grown up in some not good houses, and magical people don't really have anything to help with mental health."

Aarti was silent for several moments as she considered the food before her. "I know a few. Though I would hope you understand that this is a sensitive subject and all parties need to be made aware of what is expected. Magicals don't have the right papers to get around the muggle world. This would be an under the table job and would require very detailed vows and contracts. I also know a few Squib lawyers, if you think they'd help."

They would. A lot.

"Awesome! Thanks, Mrs. Singh!"

The woman waved her off.

* * *

Aaliyah stared at the bundle on the bed. A few days away from the new term and Bella had slipped into one of  _those_ … moods. She didn't have them often, and it had been a long time since Aaliyah had seen her have one, usually they were when she was at school and they usually cleared up in time. She would bounce back from them pretty quickly actually.

But she was actually going through another episode at a most unfortunate time too. And just when she thought things had gotten better and they weren't happening anymore.

Yet there she was, grasping her chest and pouting into her pillow. She hadn't moved all day. There had no energy to do anything and she'd felt 'even more drained than normal'.

It had to be a magical thing and Remus would surely know what to do. He was good at picking up on these types of issues. Between him and Sirius, he was the more maternal or the two.

Time to make her first Floo Call and possibly get to the bottom of what the hell was plaguing her charge so much.

She just hoped it wasn't a mental thing, because if so then there was no hope. Wizards didn't have ways to fix mental problems after all.

* * *

 

**~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Drama. Pure drama.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Molly pushed the packet of information toward her husband, an expectant look on her face.

"If we do this, there will be no turning back you realise?" Arthur asked, removing his glasses in order to rub at his eyes. "I need you to understand that the Potters will be getting out of prison in a few months and they will not take this well. they might even try to cause a political scene."

She wasn't scared. With how their reputations had taken a literal beating, they wouldn't have as much respect as they had before. And that meant less people to believe in them and less people likely to step up for them should they need it. Their support base was practically non-existent. "Sirius did promise that he would stand by us. I truly think he's understood the situation better and wants to help as best as he can."

Arthur's thinning hair looked almost golden int he light of the sun streaming in through their kitchen window. He looked haggard, having been working almost triple time in recent weeks with little to no monetary gain from it.

"They even agree to compensate us for all the years neither James nor Lily provided for Prue when she visited. I don't feel comfortable taking money, because it feels almost disingenuous, but at the same time we do need some help."

Everything had been written out and all it required was her signature. And while she would have gladly just signed away on it, Arthur was her husband and they ran their family together. It would be wrong to simply spring that on him out of nowhere. She wanted to make certain that he was on board with the plan and that there were no hard feelings.

"She's practically already a part of our family," Arthur sighed. "How soon will the paperwork be filed?"

She beamed and leaned over to kiss him thoroughly. "If we head off to the bank and meet Sirius there, it'll go into effect immediately once finished!"

Molly took up the quill on the table and wrote her name on the lines provided.

She called Prue downstairs while Arthur Floo Called Sirius and Remus. After a quick word to Percy to let him know he was in charge while they were gone, they took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Gringotts had said they already had the potion on hand and only needed Sirius, Molly, and Prue to be there for it to work officially.

As of 20:20 on 25 August, Molly Weasley became Prunella Alula Potter's fourth parent.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**School will be starting soon and it'll be some time before we can meet up**  
**again. I figured that using Bella as an owl is getting pretty tiring, so as an**  
**early birthday gift, keep this owl. She's been trained like all magical owls**  
**and will be able to fend for herself as well as find anyone for you. I didn't**  
**name her yet, so have at it. This way, we can talk whenever without poor**  
**Bella being forced to run back and forth for us.**

**You'll be excited to know that I have acquired another Kneazle, as Aoife**  
**was not interested in mine, and will begin the delicate breeding process.**  
**Their names are Shi and Yon. No, I have no originality and I don't regret**  
**a thing[1]. I'm excited for kittens!**

**Hope you had a good holiday.**  
**Amara.**

* * *

"This came in the post for you," Blaise said that morning at breakfast as he placed a large, white basket in front of Theodore at the table. "The two wrapped gifts are from Hermione and Neville, but the rest of the basket's contents are from Bella."

His friend of many years, took a deep breath and gave the best smile he could. Going several days without using any Dark Magic had a negative effect and he was more tired than usual. And ill.

As expected, Hermione sent a book. Well, not a typical book. A muggle comic book about a 'popular character' according to her accompanying note. The character on the front was dressed like a bat, and looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands.

Blaise was interested.

As for Neville, his gift was considerably smaller, probably to draw less attention to it. It was a Forgetmenot, with an added note to keep it on him at all times. They were the better version of a Remembrall because instead of just getting red inside the sphere, it actually connected to your magic and showed something pertaining to what you'd forgotten, in the smoke inside.

Bella's gift was a basket of fruits. All kinds of fruits. Some neither had even seen before. The basket was charmed to hold more than it looked like it could, and was also charmed to preserve the food. And the reason for it was because she'd most likely taken notice of how often Theo focused on fruits during meals, instead of other available foods. He simply liked fruit the most.

Theo smiled and picked up a green, pine cone looking thing, while also holding up the 'paper' that had been folded in the basket. ON it was a photo of each fruit as a description as well. "This is called a Sweetsop which is from Pakistan, India, and the Philippines." He grabbed something that looked like a hairy strawberry. "Rambutan from South East Asia." The last one he held up for perusal, was pinkish/red, with odd little bits dangling off it that turned green at the tips. "Dragon Fruit. Apparently grown practically everywhere."

They weren't even the only fruits in the basket.

"And you're going to eat them  _all_?"

" _We_ ," Theo clarified with a devilish grin. " _We_  are going to eat them all."

Blaise eyed the unknown fruits with unease. Theo merely cackled. At least he was looking better than before.

* * *

Rita smiled to herself as her famed quill proceeded to rush through a rough draft of her next best scoop! A small tip off from the Black Lord had her digging for some information here and there, and she came upon some very intriguing secrets that would cause a lot of drama once they were revealed. All she had to do was reveal them at the proper time, and word things the right way, and she'd end up being viewed as a hero for her actions!

Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor wasn't as kind and charming as he was made out to be. Already she had found inconsistencies in his books, and she had already set up an itinerary for a journey around the globe in search of the locations in said books. She also interviewed several individuals and was able to create a sort of summary on his life. And it was strange how most people he interacted with, couldn't seem to remember him at all.

According to a reliable source in Diagon Alley, one of the villages mentioned didn't even exist and Rita could practically taste the horror that would emanate from Lockhart the moment he realised what was happening to his supposedly glistening reputation. He'd put in so much effort after all, but he was no Slytherin like Rita. He wasn't raised in the atmosphere necessary to create people like her.

She had never felt too scared to go above and beyond the realms of morals and legalities in order to get what she wanted. She was also not so foolish as to think she was the only person like that. Rita could practically scent out like-minded people like a bloodhound and Lockhart was very familiar in temperament to Rita herself. But he was blinded by too many things, and had trouble focusing on the long term, too caught up in the shiny and fanciful things in front of him. Rita however, was single-minded and she hunted her goals down without remorse.

She already had a good article in the works! Within, she touched upon the strangeness of a grown man feeling the need to grope a twelve year old girl. She made certain that the photo of the two from days back, was front and center in the article, but with a few extra bits to tell the readers to pay attention to where his hand lingered and Prunella Potter's face as it moved. It was so beneficial to this particular instance, that they had managed to exceed the former photograph movements. They now held up to fifteen seconds instead of eight. Enough time to watch Lockhart's hand move lower and lower.

It would cast doubts and that was enough. The man's rabid fanbase of mostly women would probably defend him to the moon and back because they were so strartruck by his glittering teeth and blond hair, but it would be enough for an inquiry and Lord Black would be able to do something about it should enough attention be drawn to the situation and Lockhart possibly did anything worse. And if they managed to get more people to express concerns over Lockhart's actions, that would make everything even more dramatic!

Rita was set for a month's worth of travel. Her articles for the next month were already lined up and ready for their daily entry into the paper. While Britain was stewing in the stories she had come upon, Rita would be digging deeper than she ever had before and writing one of the greatest pieces of her career.

This could end up being even more scandalous than the Potter drama and she could just imagine the amount of protests rolling in once people found out that their precious hero was a fraud and was practically stealing from them! Rita thrived on causing drama, and it was great knowing that she didn't have to lie to create any of this drama! Lockhart had done enough lying for the both of them!

* * *

After much consideration, it had been decided that Prunella would keep her name as it was. While she might blend in with the Weasleys very easily, taking their name for the time being, wouldn't be prudent. She still had Voldemort to worry about after all and if she could keep the genera public unaware of her change of guardianship, she'd do it for as long as possible.

She didn't trust Voldy, his Death Eaters, or the sympathisers, and refused to give them any means with which to harm the Weasley family.

And, thanks to her insistence, Black and Lupin got the Goblins to add extra protections around The Burrow. Not even a powerful Fiendfyre would be able to get through the new wards on the property, leadin gout all the way to the orchard even.

While that was happening, Prue started up her training for the next season. The victory of the former season had been all well and good, and their trophy certainly looked nice in the case it was kept in back at the Cannons' home pitch, but Captain Holt wanted another to make a pair. He'd sent each team member a letter detailing his plans for training and his ideas for Prue specifically dealt with improving her speed.

She used the newest racing broom model, the Lightningbolt, and she was good on it, but she'd yet to acclimate to the speed boost it had over its siblings the Firebolt and the Thunderbolt. There was a bit of whiplash with it, which was considered dangerous and was probably why she had a prototype so she could test it out for the company for a price.

It would be Prue's review of it that would help them better the product so it could be sold on the market without being a sure fire way to kill someone.

So far it had a good handle, even flow, a steady glide of its own. The turning was impressive. Braking was not so good, and there was a sharp jolt upon acceleration that caused the neck to snap back suddenly. Other than that it was golden, and if she succeeded in mastering it, it would be her newest broom for the upcoming season and she'd be seconds ahead of other players just by broom speed alone.

Things were looking up. Prue was choosing to focus on the good thing so she could keep herself sane of mind. Nothing bad was set to happen for a few months and she wasn't going to think about it until it was right upon her.

"Prue, dear, come down for your cod liver oil!"

Her stomach lurched at the words as the image of a spoon came to mind.

So maybe not  _all_  bad things were set for a few months in the future. Mrs. Weasley's need to give each child under her care a spoonful of cod liver oil every night was just horrible, positive health reasons or not.

* * *

"Why aren't we taking her to St. Mungo's?" asked Aaliyah, a deep frown set in her face. "I thought they were supposed to be the hospital of Magical Britain? Wouldn't they be trained for this?"

Remus nodded, but he looked very unhappy while doing so. "Usually people take their children to the hospital, but we cannot do that for Bella. Something we don't have here on the magical side are things like doctor/patient confidentiality. To an extent, you are made to sign a contract to work there, but it only requires that you never go to a publication with information on any patient. That loophole is easily worked around as I'm certain you can tell. Signing with blood - which is required - means you promise on your magic to follow these rules under your employment at the hospital. They do not apply afterward, but if you break your word you can lose your magic as punishment by Magic itself so there is a bit of need for caution."

What the fuck kind of rule was that? And why the hell had no one decided to rework the system? She could think of so many things that should not be shared with the world. And the various ways to get around such a massive loophole made her shake her head.

"This does not make your community seem too bright," she remarked sternly, wanting to smack whoever came up with that half-arsed plan for 'secrecy'.

"Wizards have proven to lack logic," Bella said knowingly. "I've learned this very well in the last year."

Neither Remus nor Sirius had anything to say in defense of their people. Both knew Bella was right.

"Anyway," said Remus, continuing where he left off, "the Goblins are legally bound to not reveal any personal information about their clients unless ordered by the Ministry if they are under investigation, or the client themselves gives the okay. Hiring a Goblin Healer will be expensive but their medical scans will go on their client's personal record and cannot be given out to anyone but the client and their guardians. Also, Goblins do not like dealing with humans most of the time and would prefer to avoid interaction if at all possible."

That made sense at least. Interesting how the creatures that the magical community seemed to look down upon, ended up being smarter all around. Aaliyah had a feeling that wizards had gotten a little too high and mighty over the fact that they had easier access to their magic than other beings did. It was privilege again, shaping a whole majority of people into following the wrong beliefs and mindset. And very few people bothered to challenge those beliefs at all, so the community was stagnant.

The lobby of the bank was pristine as always. Marble flooring and gold decor at every turn. Massive chandeliers that looked like carved diamonds hung from the ceiling. Goblins lined either side of the room as they measured out jewels and monies of all kinds. Some clients milled around in small lines or waiting at edges of the room, looking surly and just unpleasant overall.

The Black Account Manager was called upon immediately when they reached the dais on the far side of the room, and Rhabrak the Righteous appeared within seconds, leading them to his office and giving them what would at best be considered a bland greeting coupled with a flinty look. Goblins just got right down to business. Pleasantries weren't really a thing to them.

"We need to get a Goblin Level Medical Scan for Bella," said Sirius swiftly. "Certain incidents have made us concerned for her well being and St. Mungo's cannot be trusted should something serious be at fault."

Rhabrak began fiddling with paperwork that appeared suddenly on his desk. "It is one thousand Galleons for a full scan, you are aware?"

"Yes."

"As the client in question is a minor with at least two living blood parents who are not imprisoned, at least two parental signatures are required. A special cause would be made if a parent was deceased of course, but that is not pertinent to this situation."

Sirius read through the parchment he'd been given, nodded to himself a few times, before picking up the Blood Quill and signing his name. He then handed the parchment to Aaliyah, who too read it all the way through before she signed it as well.

"It shall be done. Preparations are already being made," said Rhabrak the moment she finished signing and the parchment disappeared. "The Healer in question will have the parchment next. The amount for the exam will be withdrawn from the Main Black Vault. Have you any other business you wish to conduct?"

"Not yet. That might change once the results of the scan come in unfortunately."

Rhabrak nodded in understanding and stood. "Heiress Black, please follow me to the ritual chambers. Know that you will not be required to remove your clothing nor will we have to force unconsciousness upon you. There will be a slight pull all over your body, as if you're being tugged in every direction at once, but the sensation will fade after some time."

Bella only looked back once to make eye contact with Aaliyah. The grown woman gave her a sure nod, and the girl nodded back, before following after the Goblin without further hesitation.

* * *

**Name:**  Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels  
**Title:**  Heiress Black  
**Age at the Time of Medical Scan:**  12  
**Symptoms as Described by the Patient:**

 

> -Pain within the chest area. Dull in strength but grows sharp if prolonged. "Almost like a knife wound".
> 
> -A "droning voice like that of an old man" whenever patient attempts to read anything.
> 
> -A "birthmark" **(NOTE: this is a curse scar actually and it still has Dark Magic lingering within.)**  on the chest that burns when these episodes occur.
> 
> -Patient feels "tired but in mind only" every time. Cannot achieve slumber in this state.
> 
> -Attention span becomes nonexistent and the patient is incapable of concentrating on anything. Is rendered practically vegetative with barely any ability to acknowledge the world outside her own head.
> 
> -The droning voice is especially active during these episodes, and "makes it too loud up there". Causes intense migraines and sharp pains behind the eyes.
> 
> -Patient revealed the pain in the chest would appear around a specific Hogwarts professor, Quirinus Quirrell. Said wizard is dead however, and cannot be questioned, but the patient has revealed that he was a servant of the Dark Lord, and that he was being possessed by the Dark Lord all school year. Lord Black, as a Hogwarts Professor himself, has verified these claims.

**NOTE:**  These symptoms only started the day the patient was officially adopted and never appeared before then.

**Results Found in the Scan:**

 

> Curious anomaly occurring within the patient's spiritual being. There is another soul inside the patient, but it is not a whole and is simply a piece of one instead. It clings to the patient's soul and cannot be parted from it, as black tendrils seem to have fully sewn themselves into the patient's soul. This shows a prolonged period of exposure to the patient's soul.
> 
> The soul piece is draining magic from the patient's core and seems to be sentient to an extent. When we attempted to extract it via very specific Goblin Magicks, the piece pulsed and constricted around the main soul. At the same time, the patient released a hiss of pain and grabbed hold of her head, proclaiming pain behind the eyes suddenly and a throbbing within the skull.
> 
> The soul piece cannot be removed through Goblin Magick. In theory, human magic will most likely prove ineffectual as well. Another theory which was proposed by Healer Muerkahk, is that the patient will not be freed from the soul piece unless she dies and her soul leaves the mortal plane, taking the soul piece with it.
> 
> **My Hypothesis:**  This soul piece is what is interfering with Heiress Black's health as judging by the familiar pain the patient felt when the piece was disrupted and reacted defensively. Remove the soul piece, and her health shall return to normal.

**Additional Notes:**

 

> A scan of the slim magical signature from the soul piece itself, has made only one connection. This connection is to an individual who, to our knowledge, never opened an account within Gringotts, but whose magic was recorded being used in our lobby in the year 1963. The spell used had been a glamour too powerful for anyone among our number to see through perfectly. Said man accompanied Lord Abraxas Malfoy and was only introduced as "friend" Tom Marvolo Riddle when Lord Malfoy had explained why his guest was allowed to join him during an important meeting.
> 
> The lingering magic in the patient's curse scar on the chest, matches the magic from the soul piece. This has serious implications toward a darker nature but no answers are forthcoming.

* * *

Bella stared at the results of her scan. She'd been shown to be perfectly healthy in body. No injuries or ailments whatsoever. Her physical self was fine thanks to that Healing ability of hers. Her spiritual self was at risk apparently.

There was a piece of someone's soul stuck to hers, and it was acting like a leech though it seemed to be leeching unsuccessfully since it couldn't do anything with the magic it was stealing. And if the Goblins were correct, it was what was causing her all the pain and focusing issues!

But there was a problem.

The owner of the soul piece was named Tom Marvolo Riddle. How many people would have a name exactly like that? Especially with a name like Marvolo being so rare. And in Britain too? Marvolo was a named passed down int he Gaunt family and Tom had admitted to being related to the Gaunts.

But how was a piece of Tom's soul inside of her? And how did it get there when she'd only met Tom that January? These problems had been around since she was eight or so. But Tom was the cause of them? How was that even possible?

It was all very confusing.

Neither Sirius or Remus knew a Tom Riddle. Both swore the name sounded familiar, but they could not recall where they'd heard it from before. They were at a loss on what to do since the only real way to fix anything, would be death.

Bella considered telling them about Tom's book. But she hadn't told anyone about how it could talk back. She never said it was capable of thoughts and emotions because there was a living person inside of it who had been trapped for over half a century. She'd never revealed that she'd been having full on conversations with a book for the better part of a year.

It just hadn't seemed necessary information to share with anyone at the time.

And yet... she hesitated. Tom was her friend she was certain. And what if she explained about the book and it was taken away from her out of concern and she never got to speak to Tom again?

And surely Tom would know what was going on and why his soul was attached to hers. Tom was super smart. He'd have to have an answer.

Bella chose to keep her knowledge to herself for the time being.

So long as Tom didn't end up being some kind of evil overlord or something, then things would be okay.

They had to be.

* * *

**I had an eventful day, Tom. I never want another day like this again.**

Immediately, Tom picked up the quill on the table and wrote his reply. All he'd been told was that Bella was going to find out what was wrong with her and not to expect to hear from her for a while. He had no concept of time outside the Diary and wasn't certain if a minute for him was a minute in the real world. But it had felt like ages since Bella had last written him!

That cold either be because it actually  _had_  been ages, or because he was impatient.

And wasn't  _that_  a new thing for him. Impatience. Normally Tom had all the patience in the world. He blamed Bella for making him feel such human emotions and experiences.

_Are you cured?_

It was the most important thing for anyone with some kind of ailment.

Did they find a cure?

**No.**

Blast!

Perhaps expecting them to help her immediately was foolish. Depending on the severity of the situation, it could take years to fix something.

Maybe they just needed time?

_Do you at least know what is wrong?_

He would  _hate_  not knowing such pertinent information.

**There is a theory that is pretty plausible actually, but the attempt to fix the**  
**problem did not work, even with Goblin Magicks. So the next thought was**  
**that I'm stuck this way until I die.**

No. Absolutely not.

There was no conceivable way that death was the answer. He refused to accept that.

Death wasn't it!

Bella would  _not_  be dying any time soon!

_What is making you ill, Bella?_

She didn't answer immediately and he could actually feel his anxiety mounting from it.

Was it some new disease that had developed after he'd entered the book? Was that why they couldn't heal her? No cure was in existence yet? Was she doomed to die a slow and painful death while waiting for the fools to create the cure? Did Bella somehow end up being an unfortunate victim of some new disease? Was her life now and forever bound to the passing of time?

Things like this were why he wanted assured immortality! There were so many ways to die! Especially in ways out of your control!

**Turns out that somehow, I picked up a stray piece of some person's soul at some**  
**point and it has wrapped itself around my soul and is leeching off my magic while**  
**also knowingly causing me severe pain for whatever reason. When they tried to**  
**remove it, it practically punished me with a bad headache.**

His jaw was practically on the table.

A human being should not be capable of holding more than one soul. Sometimes, in the case of soulmates, a person could hold half of one soul because soulmates were just two halves of a whole or so the legend said. There hadn't been a confirmed case of soulmates in centuries though. But holding two souls at once was unheard of.

A human body wasn't created to hold more than one.

_Do they know whose soul it is?_

The silence between his question and her answer was, as Bella would say, killing him.

This whole impatience thing was frustrating! He didn't like it.

**Tom, can you explain to me how a piece of your soul is attached to mine even**  
**though we only met this year, but this has been happening to me for at least**  
**five years?**

His metaphysical heart stopped.

It was impossible. He'd never met Bella before she'd opened his Diary. And she had never mentioned his other self before, so there was no possible way they had met before! Besides, Bella was a child and what would Lord Voldemort have to do with children?

Tom had never wanted any, so he could see no reason for Voldemort be anywhere near children.

He certainly like children all that much, simply because he never shared a similar mindset.

How? He wanted to shake someone until answers were given.

_I honestly don't know, Bella. Are you certain it's my soul? How did they come across_  
_this conclusion?_

**The soul piece has a magical signature and it matched the signature from the**  
**only time a Mr. Tom Marvolo Riddle entered the bank under a glamour in the**  
**1960s. But he never had an account with them so he isn't a client and they**  
**know nothing about him.**

How?

**Remus and Sirius swear the name is familiar to them but can't recall where**  
**they would have heard it from.**

**_HOW?!_ **

_The only reason I can think of is perhaps you met my other self somehow. I will admit_  
_to having an interest in certain magics not quite legal in my time and have no doubt the_  
_other me would have pursued those magics once free from Hogwarts' confines. He could_  
_look completely different now, or be using a new name if he's still alive._

**Then how am I gonna find this bloke? I'm pretty sure I only met my first magical**  
**person on my birthday last year and I do not see a reason for someone like you,**  
**who doesn't like muggles, to be in the muggle world at all!**

She had a point. He would never go there if he could help it. He couldn't think of a reason for him to ever have to go back to the muggle world.

Tom wanted to avoid muggles for as long as possible.

_I used another name in school by making an anagram of my own name. I despise my_  
_name, Bella. It is the same name my wretched father had. He abandoned my mother_  
_when he learned about her magic. I didn't want to be connected to him at all. I didn't_  
_want such a boring name like Tom to follow me all the days of my life. I used a brand_  
_new name and my… acquaintances all revered it._

What his other self had done in life would all determine if he was about to lose his only link to the real world. But it felt important somehow, which was strange considering this would be possibly going against his own well being and Tom was very much interested in keeping himself alive and well. In a sense.

But Tom wanted Bella to know, which also very strange for him since he didn't like sharing personal information with others.

This need was her fault obviously. Prolonged exposure made him care about her opinion and her existence, and it was annoying.

**What was the name, Tom?**

_Tom Marvolo Riddle._

_I am Lord Voldemort._

The replies stopped.

Tom had never heard silence quite this loud before.

He despised it.

* * *

"Hey, Neville!"

The boy gave a smile of relief the moment he stepped through the Floo at Bella's house. It was only for the last couple of days until the new term began, but it was so much better than nothing.

Of course, having not seen his friend all summer, he could immediately see the changes in her appearance. Her hair had been trimmed a lot, up to her mid-back. She was actually wearing glasses at the moment, and looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. And while her unique eyes sparkled upon seeing him he could see sadness there. He wasn't sure if he should bring it up or not, so he decided the best plan was to leave it be for the time being.

Remembering his manners, Neville bowed to the woman of the house and said, "Thank you for allowing me to stay here, madam. This is to show my appreciation." He held out the small pot between his hands, which housed a cactus he'd grown himself. Upon it was a single, pink flower.

Aaliyah Michaels smiled fondly and accepted the gift. "Anything for Bella's friends. Hermione will be coming along later on tonight, and she'll be staying until the first as well."

That was great! They'd get to spend their time together and see what Bella got up to every day. He'd never been to the muggle side of London before and he was curious to know about everything!

"I'm going to get you into a pair of skates and then we're going to see just how you'll fare on the ice," said Bella, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Aaliyah is a coach though, and her girlfriend teaches classes at the rink, so they'll be around just in case, so don't worry."

Neville had never personally gone ice skating because he'd always wondered about what would happen if he went. Every time he went somewhere nice in his childhood, his Uncle Algie ruined the experience by trying to kill him so his magic would act up. So Neville no longer willingly went to places in case his uncle popped up and hurt him again.

But Algie wasn't here this time, meaning Neville could try something new and not fear death while doing it! And there was a high possibility that he would actually have fun too!

"I can't wait," he told his friend with complete honesty.

* * *

"Bella, are you okay?" Hermione asked that evening the moment they got to her bedroom.

What prompted her concern for her friend, was the forlorn look she kept sending her journal. It made no sense since it wasn't a living being and couldn't possibly have caused her any issues. It was just a book. But Bella's attention kept flitting over to where it rested on her desk, and she looked as if it had shot her Kneazle and the loss was fresh in mind.

"I'm fine, Mione. Just a bit tired and a little sad I guess. Kinda found out what's wrong with me but there's no way to fix it unless I die and as that can't happen any time soon I'm basically fucked sideways without the decency of a lube."

While her choice of language was a bit extreme, Hermione felt that it  _did_  fit the emotional atmosphere. Especially if you found out you where ill but there was no cure and you simply had to suffer until death with whatever it was. Hermione chose to not say anything because the moment was too serious for corrections.

The bushy-haired girl wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Maybe a method hasn't been made yet. We have the whole future ahead of us to try and find a solution, so don't give up."

Bella's smile was small, but her attitude seemed to lighten up a bit. "Okay."

* * *

"This is called a video game," Bella explained as she shoved the controller into Neville's inexperienced and slightly shaking hands. "And it's for a pretty popular adventure game based on a muggle comic series. I am going to teach you how to play. It's got a great story and some intense moments here and there. The voice acting is phenomenal."

"I thought we can't use muggle items," the boy said, eying the controller warily. His hands were shaking even harder than before.

"Actually," Hermione began like she did when was ready to give a lecture, "we can interact with anything that runs on electricity just fine. However, if a magical individual would attempt to cast magic on something currently running on electricity, it would short-circuit the entire object and render it useless by muggle standards. Electricity could never be conducted through it again. Reconfiguring it to work up to magical standards is a different story. Why else do you think we can ride on the Hogwarts Express? There are light bulbs and electricity on inside the train at all times. And wizards have managed to tweak the radio to work for them despite it being a muggle invention."

She had a point. Bella used a very fancy electric keyboard, a camera, and her laptop all the time. And nothing had even exploded in her hands or anything. She'd never destroyed anything electronic in her life. In fact, she was certain that magicals didn't know enough about muggle items to understand this. Or, the Ministry deliberately didn't instruct them properly. She wouldn't be surprised.

"Now Neville, the character we are playing is named Bruce Wayne, but he has a vigilante alter-ego that is known as Batman. Fights crime, is super smart, and unyielding. When you see him in action, you are going to understand why I nicknamed Snape, Batman or B-Man as he's nicknamed by a certain character in the story."

Hermione's scandalised face had her cackling enough for her muscles to hurt. She had forgotten that she hadn't shared her chosen nickname with her other friends! But it was hilarious! Amara and Hermione were of the same opinion it seemed!

If Neville managed to finish the main story of the first game before school began, Bella would move him on to  **Batman: Arkham City**  afterward.

Maybe one day she'd get Theo and Blaise over so she could introduce them to the wonderful world of muggle comic books and video games! She could totally see them getting into Marvel a bit more considering the X-Men and their varied abilities tended to appeal to people more.

* * *

The one time Hermione wished she had a camera! She'd never wanted one before, but how many people got to watch the sports star they admired most, up close and personal during practice?

Thankfully, Bella and Aaliyah recorded every practice so they could review it later, so Hermione still got to see the full video on YouTube later on. But still! She would have been able to take photos as well!

Neville and Hermione had opted out of joining their friend on the ice, because they just wanted to watch her perform. She was currently running through the choreography for her upcoming Free Program, but was marking her jumps only. Today was not a jumping day. Aaliyah had explained that Bella had days where she focused primarily on one thing, and then days where she did whatever they wanted her to work on the most.

As of now, Bella was working on adding the perfect Y Spiral to her routine in time for the upcoming competition at the rink.

"I can't believe she does this all the time," Neville whispered. "It looks so difficult. My ankles hurt after wearing skates for just an hour."

Hermione nodded. "She's been training since she was six, I believe. Building up strength and tolerance. Stamina. Bella's great at a lot of things, but this was that one thing where her body was not automatically capable of keeping up, so she had to work physically in order to get better. And she  _really_  wants this for tonnes of reasons."

The determination that was required to keep up with such a demanding lifestyle, was impressive. There was a reason why Bella was sorted into Slytherin. She was different than most of her Housemates, but one thing they all shared in common, was that desire to be something some day, and the willingness to do whatever it took to get there.

Suddenly, Hermione had a need to buy one of those homemade Belladonna posters that the Gryffindor girl at school was selling. With lots of purple if she had one like that available.

Hermione wanted it on her bedroom wall at home and since Bella didn't have official merch yet, it would have to do.

Whenever Hermione needed inspiration to keep going, she'd be able to see Bella, remember her efforts, and know that it was indeed possible to achieve her goals if she worked hard enough.

Distantly, she was aware that she'd developed a small crush on her first ever friend.

* * *

Severus had already gone through five cups of tea that were each filled with Brandy, in the lone hour he'd been forced to sit in the room with the teachers and discuss the upcoming term. He was British and tea was life. And his blood was basically half Brandy already. And the mix of both also kept him from hexing the bullocks off the newest member of their staff.

None of them had been in support of hiring Gilderoy Lockhart. In fact, Minerva, Filius, and Pomona remembered him quite well from when they taught him and while he was a Ravenclaw, he wasn't the most studious individual, and did not obtain the best grades in anything save for certain aspects of Charms. And even then Filius didn't have anything pleasant to say in regards to his time in the classroom. He was regarded with distaste at best and loathing at worst.

The fact that he qualified to teach DADA because he managed an Acceptable on his DADA N.E.W.T. left Severus stewing in utter rage. And not just because _once again_  he did not get the job he wanted that he was more than qualified for, though that certainly played a part in his aggravation.

If it was up to him there would be even steeper expectations in obtaining a job at Hogwarts because being entrusted with the education of a thousand children every year, was a difficult task and not for the faint of heart. The Board of Governors were far too lenient for his tastes and it needed to be rectified post haste. Otherwise they'd continue taking people with no skills at all.

You could become a professor at the school so long as you managed at least an Acceptable on the N.E.W.T. subject of choice, or you had a Mastery. Severus had Outstandings on all eight of his N.E.W.T.s plus a Mastery in both Potioneering and Healing. Severus considered himself more than qualified and in his not so humble opinion, one should have either an Outstanding N.E.W.T. in the subject of choice, or a Mastery. Anything below should be considered sub-par and not worthy of the job. Plain and simple.

Gilderoy Lockhart was the most under-qualified professor in the history of their glorious institution. Severus was certain no one would ever achieve the man's level of ineptitude and he could barely resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his crooked nose in frustration. Already his patience was being tested so very early in the morning and nothing of great import had even happened yet. But he didn't want to seem less than unflappable to his peers, so he resisted every urge to roll his eyes, every time they cropped up.

His breaths were long and deep in order to keep calm. Quirrell was better than this buffoon. He mostly kept to himself and didn't feel the need to interject his opinion anywhere. Ever. His desire to go unnoticed had been the most pleasing thing about him while he was a member of the staff.

Gilderoy was nothing like that. He wanted attention at every possible moment and it was draining dealing with him! His voice was reminiscent of James Potter back in school, but if possible, even worse!

And everyone sans Dumbledore was already tired of hearing him interrupt others with information he claimed to be 'well-versed' in. As if the dunce, who held no Mastery of any sort, could school Severus on how to properly brew Felix Felicis, or instruct Pomona on how to properly prune the Whomping Willow.

He was a bloody idiot.

And yet all Albus did as twinkle and eat his damn sherbet lemons! Severus had half a mind to curse the sweets just to teach the old coot a lesson.

Minerva caught his eye and they shared a longsuffering look. Already, the sides had been established. Everyone else against Lockhart. Even those who did not generally get on were united against him.

Severus intended to make his life at Hogwarts hell and he knew that none of his colleagues would stand by the fresh meat either. Especially after the recent article written about him in the Daily Prophet which implied that Gilderoy had groped Prunella Potter in broad daylight, in the middle of Flourish and Blotts. And the accompanying photo detailing the track of his hand didn't make him look so good especially as it disappeared behind the child and her eyes widened in horror. All caught on camera too.

It wouldn't surprise him if the man turned out to be a sexual predator. He gave off that sort of smarmy aura. And with these warnings in mind, the staff - excluding Dumbledore who was of the 'innocent until proven guilty' thought process - collectively decided that Lockhart was not to be trusted and should be watched at all times just in case.

While Albus may love to twinkle and act as if the world was all sunshine and rainbows lately, Severus would not be blinded by those same rosy spectacles. He knew what was going on, and he possessed enough metaphorical foresight to understand that nothing was the same and that times were changing around them.

Sometimes he wondered if Dumbledore lost a bit of himself over the years. That maybe he'd been exposed to too much in his lifetime. No one could be content with acting this ignorant on purpose. Could they? It couldn't be a show he was putting on, could it?

Or maybe Severus was blinding himself to the fact that he'd Vowed himself into the service of an utter idiot.

* * *

The first of September. The Hogwarts Express was shining and crimson as always, and the platform was filled with roaming families like expected. There seemed to be no room to even stand let alone walk since everyone was simply loitering.

Aaliyah bade them a farewell just at the barrier, and the trio slipped through quickly and rushed to find a compartment of their own at the back of the train so they'd be closer to the school when it stopped. It was lucky for them that people decided to take ten minutes just to say goodbye to each other, because there were many compartments free of people or luggage.

Neville, who was looking far happier than he had the last time they'd been on the train, was looking right at home. He'd ended up having a lot of fun in the last few days, and didn't have to think about his wretched grandmother who kept trying to force him to be someone he wasn't. He'd already detailed the Auror training and both Hermione and Bella were disgusted by it. But the news of his wand made them all happier. He'd do better once he got his own wand. An Auror told him so. That was great news!

Bella had a few choice words for the Longbottom woman but knew that it wouldn't be good if she ever said them while the woman was still in charge of the Longbottom family. But oh did she have so many things she wanted to put out there!

It wasn't long after the train began to move, that Theo and Blaise appeared in the doorway. Theo was looking… rough. His eyes were almost sunken into his skull. Like, a lot more than eyes usually were.

"Goodness!" exclaimed Hermione, tossing her book aside as she stood abruptly. "Are you okay?!" she asked Theo who had bags under his eyes and kinda resembled a very old peach. She helped him sit beside her.

"I have been better," the boy admitted. "Grandfather was very demanding this summer and I've only just recovered in time for school."

Blaise was nodding along. "Mum did the best she could and even got our Healer to check him over, but there is only so much you can do with PDAA."

Bella could see that both Hermione and Neville understood immediately, and looked to them for answers.

"Post Dark Arts Addiction," Neville clarified clearly. "It's dangerous for children to start learning advanced magics of any kind but Dark Arts are more addicting according to Healers. It isn't safe to be exposed to any for an extended period of time when your core hasn't developed fully."

So Theo was being forced to learn dangerous magic from his grandfather for whatever reason, and it was physically and probably mentally unhealthy for him to do so. He looked like skin and bones. Literally. His face was more gaunt than it ever had been.

Bloody fantastic. Another old fogey she wanted to smack just had to anger her ever further.

It seemed to be a common point in any society that the old people were too far gone to truly understand what change was, and were too steeped in their ways to ever open their eyes or possibly consider people other than themselves. She should really stop being so surprised every time she learned another old arsehole did something selfish.

And speaking of old arseholes… Voldemort.

Her Tom was Voldemort. Or her Tom became Voldemort. All she knew was that there was a connection between her Tom and Voldemort and she didn't like it. And she didn't want to think about it.

And so she wouldn't.

 

* * *

  **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

> **[1]** Shi and Yon are both the #4 in Japanese. However, Japanese used today,  
>  is based off of the Chinese characters that were integrated into the country  
>  centuries upon centuries ago. Shi is the Chinese word for the #4. Because  
>  the language heavily influenced Japanese, they took on the characters and  
>  the words themselves and made them their own in a way. But Shi, isn't a  
>  naturally pleasant word in Japanese because it also means "death". Now,  
>  many words sound the same in Japanese, but are written with a different  
>  character, which determines which meaning it has. Like homonyms in our  
>  English. The Japanese had their own #4 though, in Yo, which eventually  
>  became Yon. So many people kept Yon over Shi probably because of what  
>  Shi means in their language. Superstition most likely.
> 
> **Fun Fact:** The numbers 7 and 9 also have 2 words used. 7 is Shichi or Nana  
>  and 9 is Ku or Kyuu. Shichi sounded too much like Shi so they decided on  
>  Nana, and Ku means "suffering" which is unpleasant, so they kept Kyuu,  
>  which was more Chinese that was introduced centuries after the Chinese  
>  mentioned in the above paragraph.
> 
> Usage of the number depends on the person and what they like most.
> 
> Ichi, Ni, San, Shi/Yon, Go, Roku, Shichi/Nana, Hachi, Kyuu/Ku, Juu. I  
>  prefer Shi, Shichi, and Kyuu personally.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School starts and it's not what everyone wants it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Tom and Bella don't talk in this chapter. Sorry. But both aren't happy by the separation.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Severus handed over the new schedule for the girl in front of him. Her guardian had sent it on over through Black and it seemed to be even more detailed than the last one had been. Because she'd lowered the amount of her expected muggle courses by at least half, she had more time on her hands, and that meant intensifying her training schedule.

On an every other day schedule, she would be participating in Tap Dancing at home, and then Rink Practice which would be followed by some light weight lifting. And on the days she was at school, she would do her stretches and then run the Quidditch Pitch exactly five times every morning at a moderate pace. Her twin didn't even practice as often. She left the school for hours every Thursday for team practice and was gone until dinner. She didn't have such a grueling schedule to keep up with. He had to wonder how the child was keeping up.

When he'd first laid eyes on her on her first day back, he'd noted the small changes. Her face had thinned out just a bit around the cheeks. She'd managed to lose the excessive chubbiness from her childhood and was transitioning into a young teenager. Her jaw certainly seemed a lot sharper than it had been before and the cleft of her chin was more pronounced now. Her hair had been cut and no longer reached her hips. It was allowed to hang freely and had curled up considerably without the excess weight pulling it down. It barely reached her mid-back and it resembled a more tamed version of Granger's mess.

Belladonna Potter had also grown taller if only a little bit. And she would remain that height until the following summer.

She wasn't the only student to change over the summer. Every child did. Constantly using their magic during the school year sort of forced their body into a stasis of a sort. Over the summer, they weren't allowed to use their magic at home for specific reasons, and it was in that time where the body had time to rest and grow again. So everyone grew quickly over the summer.

Considering the girl's height, compared to Granger who had shot up quite a bit in only two months and was as tall as Blaise Zabini now, she wasn't going to be a tall individual.

Severus had grown nineteen centimeters in the summer after first year. He'd ended up being taller than many of his classmates and had hated it at the time because it made him stand out and capture attention very easily. He liked it now because of the height advantage intimidating everyone who came near him. If only his younger self could have realised that ahead of time.

He was feeling old and he didn't like it. He wasn't even old by wizarding standards! He hadn't even reached his middle age years!

"Your guardian wants you to pay proper attention to your sleeping schedule. She emphasised the importance of you getting enough sleep. She has also forwarded an eating schedule to me and I have alerted the House Elves. She wants more citrus in your diet and the proper fruits will be closer to where you sit during meals."

"Awesome. Vitamin C is super important and I've been drinking orange juice all summer. Can you make sure they give it to me without the juicy bits? I don't like it like that and I don't have a strainer on hand in the morning."

Severus nodded, and pulled out the schedule to make note of it quickly. "You will also be eating more lean meats at dinner and your are allowed one incredibly sugary sweet a day, so plan wisely."

The girl nodded. "Got it. Anything else, sir?"

He briefly considered asking after her summer, but then decided against it. He was her professor and Head of House, not her best mate.

"No. Make certain you continue the output of work you maintained throughout last year and we will have no need to speak with one another more than what is necessary. Continue to do well this term and next term, and you may qualify for use of a Time-Turner next year. It will all depend upon your actions during your second year here."

* * *

Bella was not one for Herbology. She and plants just didn't get on and since magical plants tended to have minds of their own, they were deliberately obstinate. Neville was obviously horrified by her treatment of the Mandrake she'd been given to deal with, and shook his head many times at her as she threatened the bugger she'd been trying to re-pot.

He ended up having to re-pot the poor thing for her because she just sucked at it so much. Sprout couldn't seem to choose whether to be pleased by Neville's skills, or disappointed at how poorly Bella performed in her class.

But it wasn't her fault! She just wasn't good with plants! She didn't have a green thumb!

There was pride for Neville's accomplishments though. His understanding of plants had him at the very top of the class. The Mandrakes didn't scream when  _he_  touched them. It was like magic. But not.

She really didn't like plants all that much. That might be why Herbology was one of her worst classes overall. Bella would never even get an EE she was certain. The expectations were low as they should be.

* * *

"You are all here for the same reason."

Hermione looked around at the group of girls. She had honestly expected to only see students from her year, but in fact, the Hospital Wing was filled with first, second, third, fourth, and even fifth year students. It showed how the human body varied from person to person. A first year, an eleven year old, had already gotten her period while a fifth year, a fifteen or sixteen year old, had only  _just_  gotten her period.

The familiar faces she recognised personally were Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, the Patil twins, first year Ginny Weasley, first year Luna Lovegood, and Sue Li. There were thirteen other students Hermione had seen before but didn't know.

Madam Pomfrey was looking upon them sternly. In her hands were packets of information that she handed to one girl and ordered her to pass them along. Each of them were to get one.

"The magical menstruation cycle is different from our muggle counterparts," the woman began. "The first thing you need to know is that those of us with uteri will ovulate twice as much naturally. For muggles, they ovulate once a month, and the ovary that ovulates is completely random every month. One month it's the left, the next it could be the right or it might be the left again. The cycle repeats up until the body cannot do so any longer. They can menstruate from anywhere between three days to seven days. Individuals have had up to ten or eleven days in some cases, maybe even more."

Behind her was a massive diagram of the uterus, and in her hand was her wand, which she used to point to the different body parts. "For most muggles, only one egg is released every month  _except_  in some cases where each ovary releases an egg and if both are fertalised, fraternal twins will come of that miracle.

"We are different. Both ovaries are working at the same time,  _all the time_. And each ovary releases an egg every month. Essentially we have twice the chance of getting pregnant than muggles do. There is a problem however in the health of the eggs. They generally aren't capable of being fertalised for reasons we have yet to understand, which is why pregnancy is such a struggle for us and why having multiple children is incredibly rare. Large families like the current Weasley Clan are almost unheard of in our history."

Hermione had already learned everything about the menstrual cycle for muggles. She was a curious person and wanted to know everything about everything. She knew all of this basic information already. Because of that, her understanding was broader compared to the others in the group. It also meant that she grasped the implications faster.

"This leads to more blood, more cramping, higher emotional output, and often times, the body is more tired and our magic tries to compensate for that which leaves us weaker. It can be very stressful. Luckily for us, our periods last exactly four days. In everyone. No one has ever had one that lasted longer or shorter to our knowledge, and if such a thing occurs, people are encouraged to report this anomaly immediately for further study."

Curious, Hermione had to raise her hand because of something she'd noticed while skimming through the pamphlet she'd gotten. "When it comes to the body, I don't see a lot of gender defining pronouns used in the pamphlet you gave us. Is there a reason for that?"

Pomfrey nodded slowly, looking shocked that such a question was asked at all. "We often forget that muggles are still... a bit behind certain ways of thinking or understanding. Magical Creatures come in more than just female and male. More genders than we can even describe for some that don't wish to impart that knowledge upon us. When certain creatures copulate with humans, their offspring tend to have the same reproductive system as the creature parent. The Metamorphmagus comes from such a union, but distantly. Someone in their ancestry was a creature and they passed on this ability. For a time in the 1800s, we had dozens of Metamorphs attending Hogwarts at once.

"Metamorphs are never truly one gender. Their body is ever changing and it can take almost two decades for them to gain control enough to have a set appearance that they prefer. And most have been on every side to get a full feeling of what they choose to identify with. We had our first Metamorph student in the last century, graduate last year. She chose female but most cases made no specific choice and remained unbothered. We have chosen not to make assumptions. Most of our students choose to fall along the binary line and how they identify determines where the castle itself chooses to place them in their dorms. Hogwarts is sentient to an extent and is connected to the Sorting Hat and your magical signature. These all work together to help decide where the student in question should be placed so everyone is content."

Wow. That was a lot. And interesting.

And now she had more questions that there probably wasn't enough time for!

"We have a potion that can stave off the menstruation cycle for an entire thirty days, but it cannot be taken several times in a row. At most. you can take it for three months but it can quickly harm you by then. It's basically like a petrification spell to the reproductive system and going too long without giving your system a chance to breathe, might shut it down entirely and poison you in the long run."

Lovely. Magical bodies had the potential to be terrifying.

"Now there are people who either don't have the reproductive system necessary for birth, have a partially formed one, or have a malformed one. There is an expensive potion that can Transfigure the body long enough for a proper pregnancy however pregnancy for us is rare already so there is a chance it won't work at all, and if the person does not connect magically with the main ingredient of the potion, it can't be used, so this option is not necessarily available to everyone."

Hermione. Had. So. Many. Questions!

"I will be giving you an assignment. You will read through those pamphlets and explain in your own words, the menstruation cycle for magical humans. If you fail, you will do it again until you get it correct. I would like it handed in to me personally by this coming Monday. No longer than one foot is you please."

That was way too short for everything Hermione intended to touch upon! She'd have to make her writing extra small to fit everything.

* * *

So the pedophile was the newest teacher at school and Bella wanted so terribly to curse him. And the thing was, she wasn't a violent person by nature. Bella would gladly defend herself if it came to that, and she kind of liked the rush she got from putting other people in their place below her, but she didn't actively go out searching to harm others. She preferred to err on the side of subtlety and caution. But after the whole literally groping Prunella in front of like a hundred people, Bella felt like her old methods weren't right for the situation and she felt the most violent desires she'd ever experienced.

Thankfully, Aaliyah had already talked to Sirius and Remus about this situation and Remus had been hired on the sly as a tutor for Defence. Bella would not be sitting in the same class as the pedophile and the invitation was extended to all of her friends as well. And Prunella would also be taking the class with them because neither Sirius nor Remus wanted her near the creep either.

Meaning Bella's future was going to have more of Prue in it. She wasn't sure how things would go, but she had high hopes, especially since Prue wasn't trash in human form. The other girl did her own thing, spent all her time with her friend or training, and that was that. No peacocking, no fighting, no bullying. She was very tolerable if truth be told and save for Potions, she gave the teachers no hassle. But Batman did single her out verbally during every class so Bella felt it was deserved in a sense.

At least with Remus she knew they would be learning and actually enjoying their class time. It was such a shame that the wizarding world was so biased against magical creatures. Remus would be a better professor than probably any of the DADA teachers in the last half century. He simply _got it_  and then was capable of translating that to children and helping them actually learn. A lot of people were good as specific subjects, but that didn't mean they had the capability of  _teaching_  that subject. Batman was a perfect example. One of the youngest Masters of a precise art in the entire world, and yet had no patience when it came to children at all. Obviously he was a genius who hadn't grasped the the fact that not everyone could make the same leaps and bounds as he could, and it frustrated him enough to rant.

He had moments of immaturity, much like Sirius did actually. Both were inherently decent individuals on the inside she was certain, but they had certain triggers that would devolve them to childish antics in a second. Such was the way of human nature.

Bella's wandering attention was snagged by Lockhart's ugly arse hair as it gleamed in the light of the sun streaming in through the stained glass windows. She sneered in his direction, the revulsion twisting her stomach around. The Daily Prophet articles from Rita had not been letting up in the least and she had painted a disgusting portrait worse than what had actually happened. It was enough to cast suspicion on the blond twit, but not enough people believed him to be the creep that he was.

Already, just that morning at breakfast, he had appeared out of nowhere when Prue stepped into the Great Hall, and proceeded to  _wrap an arm around her shoulders_  and start talking her ear off and his head joggled from side to side. And no matter how much Prue was obviously trying to slip away from him, he wouldn't let go.

It eventually came down to the Weasley twins hexing the blond twat behind his back in order to free Prue from his grasp. His robes suddenly turning orange and blue had been horrifying enough to send him running back to his rooms, screaming himself hoarse.

There had been a moment of laughter where the students got in a good chuckle at the creep's expense. Bella did not join in simply because he was disgusting and she hated his very being. Probably as much as she did James and Lily Potter.

It was in the returning silence after the laughter, that Batman's voice could be heard over the low din, saying, "Ten points to Gryffindor."

The entire student body fell into another round of laughter at that, since it was obvious Snape hated Lockhart and he never gave points for anything ever. Bella had to crack a smile at the absurdity of it, but the smile vanished when Fred and George escorted Prunella to the Gryffindor Table and proceeded to sit on either side of her like a pair of ginger bookends.

Apparently it was going to be a full on mission to keep Lockhart away from Prunella. Whether he wanted her fame or her...  _other_  things didn't matter. He needed to stay the hell away.

* * *

**Amara,**

**For future reference, I named the owl Hedwig. I got the name from our History**   
**of Magic book and as she was an instrumental person in Magical Britain's own**   
**formation, I felt it a good name for such a nice but strong owl. Hedwig seems**   
**to agree too. She's very smart and doesn't appreciate being treated like she's**   
**just an animal, so beware of her temper and how you talk to her.**

**I want to take a moment to discuss Bella. As I'm sure you've learned, she now**   
**knows what is wrong. She seems to have accepted the information for what it**   
**is and isn't even all that angry that there is no way to fix the problem, but she**   
**still seems so unhappy. But every time I ask her if she's alright she says she's**   
**fine and not to worry. So I guess I just wanted to know if something happened**   
**while I was away? She's been a bit sad lately. Like she's languishing and it isn't**   
**because of her ailment. There was finality in her tone when she spoke of it. It**   
**isn't because of that.**

**I don't know what to do. Neville's bad jokes aren't working. Blaise said he saw**   
**her just randomly staring out a window for several minutes without moving. I**   
**can't get a peep from her at all. She's been a bit spacey and only really reacts**   
**to something whenever Lockhart is involved. She doesn't trust him and she'll**   
**do a 180 if he comes around. Not that I blame her. We have a man suspected**   
**of pedophilia among other thing, teaching children. That's enough to rile any**   
**sane person up.**

**Onto other matters.**

**I'm top of my year again. Barely any time back but I have established myself**   
**as the best in most of my classes. Bella and Prunella are better at DADA but I**   
**hold best output everywhere else so far. I've already gone through this year's**   
**curriculum and memorised the wandwork and pronunciations. I figured it was**   
**better to be prepared. My Housemates are still rather horrible to me. None of**   
**them talk to me, and are glad to take credit for my efforts, but they do sneer**   
**when I come around. And they have mostly focused their attention on a new**   
**girl.**

**Her name is Luna Lovegood. She's a firstie and she doesn't seem to be very**   
**together. She wears a bottlecap necklace, radish earrings, and walks around**   
**perpetually dazed almost. And because her father own some publication no**   
**one takes seriously and she proclaims the existence of creatures no one has**   
**ever seen, they've taken to bothering her instead. I do find what she says to**   
**be impossible to believe, and she certainly is a bit on the odd side, but I do**   
**not want her to be bullied!**

**They call her Looney and mock her even when she's in ear shot. They have**   
**not  done more, I'm certain, but when I told a Prefect they said there wasn't**   
**any proof. That perhaps I'm 'projecting because I'm angry no one wants to**   
**be my friend'. Obviously people want to be my friend. I have Bella, Blaise,**   
**Theodore, Neville, and you. And I would never make something like that up**   
**as there's no reason for me to. The Prefects simply aren't doing their jobs.**

**Sometimes I wonder if I was sorted into the wrong House. Ravenclaw isn't**   
**what I had hoped it would be. I tolerated this treatment last year because**   
**I was just happy to be able to come to a magical school, but this just isn't**   
**what I wanted.**

**Anyway, how are you doing so far? Are Yon and Shi getting on? Will there**   
**be a litter in their future? I've been thinking of getting a Kneazle and I'd**   
**love to adopt one from you! Let me know!**

**Hoping you are well,**   
**Hermione.**

* * *

There was a grandfather clock in the room. It had been there since the very beginning. It never worked, though since the Diary wasn't a physical space and time did not exist inside of it, of course it would never work. The clock forever remained frozen on Roman Numeral  **X**  with no change in the sixty plus years Tom had been trapped.

Never had he hated the clock more than now. He hated everything it represented and everything it was not.

Bella had stopped talking to him. He didn't even know how long ago it was. He'd counted up to four million at an accelerated pace before giving up, and that had been some time ago.

He didn't know what was happening in the real world. He didn't know if Bella ever planned to speak with him again. He didn't know if he was going to be destroyed any time soon.

All he knew was that Bella hadn't touched the Diary in what felt like forever, but she also didn't give it to someone else. And since Tom was still in existence and free of pain, he was assuming that she hadn't told anyone about him either. At least he hoped that was the case. He'd sensed no one new come near him ever since their communication dissolved.

He couldn't think of why she wouldn't tattle the moment she found out he became Lord Voldemort. If it caused her to avoid him for this long, then his true self had to have done something horrible. Whether it was a personal slight against her, or just the overall morality conflicting with her, he didn't know. And it bothered him to not know things! Especially not knowing what his other self had done!

Tom tried to organise everything he knew about Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels. Tried to make everything make sense even though it wouldn't when he was finished.

Born 31 July 2000 to James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter née Evans. She had a twin sister named Prunella Alula Potter. Her twin had been the favourite throughout their first year together. The family was attacked and it resulted in Prunella being hailed as a wizarding hero and Bella being abandoned with muggle relatives who hated magic. And the reason had been because her parents assumed she was a Squib because they were too daft to pay attention to their other child.

Bella was systematically abused for four years up until she was left at an orphanage in London and had to go through the muggle drama of a police investigation. She became a citizen of England legally, had to get therapy to make certain she wasn't mentally ill from her experience at the hands of the muggles, and started figure skating when she decided she wanted to be an athlete.

She got adopted not long after she turned eight, by her current coach, and she only found out about magic on 31 July 2011. Her life was turned upside down and she learned of her family's actions, and her magic in greater detail.

Her parents were taken to court by her godfather/third parent. They were sentenced to ten years that they had enough money to shorten to a year each. Her godfathers weren't doing their job in regards to Prunella and Bella was disappointed from what she'd last told him of the situation.

Bella was a hard worker and was dramatic. A product of her generation and unabashedly outspoken about her interests. Found a lot of magical things pointless. Openly criticised the wizarding world for backwards practices, but she also criticised the muggles too because while things were better, they still weren't what she thought they should be.

She had similar beliefs to Tom but they also clashed in other places. Like how she considered muggles to be fine. But from what Tom had learned of the present day, muggles were a lot better than they ever had been before and she got to grow up in such a world. No war and bombs raining down on London every bloody day had to be one hell of a peaceful life to live. Muggles, in Bella's opinion, were more interesting than wizards.

They dreamed of magic and created content such as films and books based around magical concepts and history. People seemed more accepting of things labeled as  _other_ , now. They wanted to fly without muggle technology, and wanted monsters to be real. They dressed up as such beings on Samhain because it was the one night a year where they could be something they wanted to be a not be mocked for it.

Compared to Tom's childhood, the world was just a better place now. Of course Bella would support muggles. Though she didn't support the idea of telling them about magic, thankfully. She had told him that while a majority of the human population, all seven billion of them now, would accept magic without a second thought and would gladly support magicals, governments would see wizards more as weapons to be forced under control to one up one another.

Technically  _any_  government would do that when faced with something that seemed to provide and endless amount of power, but she wasn't wrong. Human nature dictated that you needed to rule the roost. Even Tom fell prey to this simple biological urge. So of course governments who held power over municipalities, would want more power when it came along, in order to goad the others into submission. And the bigger ones would prevail in such a scenario obviously and with such would come prestige and the like.

Bella was an interesting person to speak with. Childish but mature at the same time. Still holding on to that innocence of her youth despite everything she'd gone through, but maturing in certain areas far ahead of time, and having to cultivate a level of control over herself for every day of her life if she wanted her dreams to come true.

Hard working toward her own goals didn't fully encompass Bella. Dedication played a massive part as well.

He'd heard of the injuries. Despite her issues with Quidditch, figure skating did not seem any more safe to Tom. Bella had so far broken her arm, her ankle, her left metacarpals, and concussed herself many times during practice. She was lucky her Healing factor was so strong that it began fixing any injuries the second they occurred. Even with healing spells or potions some of those injuries could take ages to fix and might even leave nasty side effects behind if not caught on time. She was lucky.

There was something more respectable in being the cause of your own pain and knowing full well that it had the potential to get even worse in the future, and having the perseverance to continue on because your goals were more important to you in the long run, compared to persevering through pain when someone  _else_  has inflicted it upon you and you want to prove them wrong by outlasting them.

It bordered on self-destructive in a way.

If Bella had been a fellow student in Tom's day, he would have done whatever he could to get her on his side as a member of his Knights. She was the kind of person who would be good as a follower. Loyal, honest, and hard-working when it came to what she believed in. If he left out the manipulative streak she had and the level of her ambition, he'd say she'd have been a fine Hufflepuff.

Hufflepuffs made the best allies and while rare, Hufflepuff/Slytherin friendships were a dangerous sort. Almost as dangerous as Slytherin/Slytherin partnerships.

And whichever best suited Bella, Slytherin or Hufflepuff, they'd have been an interesting partnership. Tom never struck deals with people because he just preferred their compliance, but Bella made him reconsider. Perhaps being on equal footing with someone  _could_  have its advantages if that someone was like Bella was.

All he had to do was get her to speak with him again. And he was rather limited in the book because he could not latch onto her soul at all and no one else in the house could be controlled because of their lack of magic. So he was stuck just feeling the barest brush of her warm soul and magic when they came around, but never getting the full, blinding force of them.

And on the subject of Bella's soul, there was a piece of Tom's soul stuck to hers. It made him wonder if maybe that was what was making it impossible for him to establish any connection to the girl. And it also could explain why she had this familiar feeling to her whenever she laid hands on the book.

Like Tom was recognising himself in a way. And from how she'd described her situation, the soul piece was very much aware of what it was and what it could do. Was it deliberately refusing him the connection, or was that simply how it was naturally? It was deliberately causing her pain.

Tom was still confused over how a piece of his soul could possibly thrive in another living being. It was so strange. And the concept kind of reminded him of Horcruxes, but there had never been a living one. And why would his real self turn a child into a Horcrux anyway? Humans were mortal and would all fall into the embrace of death at some point. Having a link to immortality that was capable of dying, seemed rather foolish.

He wanted to talk about these thoughts with Bella. He wanted to know what she had to say about it all. He wanted the dreaded silence to bloody end already! Never before had he hated that it was quiet!

The waiting was tense and he could feel a strange sensation in his stomach, which shouldn't be possible because there were no such things as that in the Diary. Sixty years or so inside the book and yet only  _now_  he was feeling such an odd bodily reaction?

Maybe this was divine retribution for all the questionable things Tom had done in his short life. He wasn't the best of people. He didn't necessarily think of himself as evil, but he wasn't good.

Tom didn't start things, he finished them. That was how he handled everything in life. And yes, sometimes mistakes were made, but rarely did Tom regret anything because in his mind, he was justified for what he did. That didn't mean anyone else would feel the same of course, not that he cared usually.

He would even accept a half-arsed greeting so long as Bella acknowledged him.

Tom was used to having people's attention for many reasons. Being ignored was something rare and annoying for him personally. One truth he could admit to, was the fact that he loved to perform for an audience and his narcissism played a massive part in that. He liked being admired by others. He liked it even more because he knew he was something admirable compared to the dullards he was surrounded with.

Just a word. An emoji even. Tom would take anything so long as Bella gave him her attention.

His dependence on Bella unnerved him more than anything in recent months ever had. He needed  _her_ , but she didn't need  _him_ , and it was an uncomfortable truth that settled into the marrow of his bones and refused to let him be.

* * *

Prue was not having a good day. She'd been told without hesitation that she would not be taking Defence with the rest of the students, and that she would be receiving personal tutoring from Remus alongside Belladonna and possibly some of her friends.

This was great. She had no qualms about the situation and her only worry was the possible amount of written work ahead of her. Prue was still not the best at writing. Her hand cramped very quickly, her writing was atrocious, and most teachers didn't seem to like quills that wrote by themselves. As if they didn't let the student truly learn or whatever.

On another note, was Lockhart. The idiot didn't seem to be affected by the horrible words printed in the Prophet about him. He simply smiled everywhere he went, as if there were no problems in his life. And he would brag about this award and that award, and offer his unsolicited advice to anyone within reaching distance. And he never got the hint when people tried to get away from him!

Prue was more famous than him and had been dancing to the tune of fame for a very long time. Far longer than Lockhart had, that was for certain. And yet she had never done anything remotely like him.

She gave autographs with a special quill only when asked. She agreed to photos only if asked. She liked having nice things because that was what she was used to having. She didn't randomly expect everyone to want anything but money from her and she didn't go around bragging about how amazing she was to anyone who would listen.

Honestly, if the whole groping thing wasn't terrible enough, his character was what made him all the worse in the end.

He was grabby!

So far, in the very first week back, he'd somehow found his way into Prue's personal space dozens of times! So far, Ron, the twins, Belladonna, Black, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, and a handful of Prefects, had managed to get her away from him in time. But he would just appear and place an arm around her shoulders and pull her in close, where she didn't want to be!

Prue had taken up the habit of bringing the Marauder's Map with her everywhere. And while she had the advantage of seeing him coming thanks to the map, he somehow  _always_  knew where she was. His little footsteps would always be turning in her direction somehow.

With a sigh of annoyance, Prue did a one-eighty and made her way toward Black's quarters. She would have gone to McGonagall if the woman hadn't already proven to be a lacklustre Head of House who was never around or never believed anyone when they had problems.

Black would check her over for tracking charms. He might even have to put some charms up to block such things just in case.

There was no way Lockhart just instinctively knew where she was all the time. She refused to believe it! He was not that smart!

* * *

Her first competition of the new season. Bella and Aaliyah had been working nonstop all summer to prepare her for harder and more thought-provoking choreography. They wanted to showcase Bella's newly obtained knowledge and skills as much as possible. She didn't spend an entire four months focusing mostly on Presentation over her Technicals, for nothing.

Her theme for this season was Fairytale and she was content with the choice.

Bella's costume was like the common figure skating costume. Same basic design one would expect. Her chosen colour had been lavender of course, and the sleeves were bedazzled with fake, blue and green rhinestones. There were small, blue and green lavenders sewn into the fabric around her wrists. The lycra around the V of the neck was a peachy colour as it was supposed to match her skin tone. It managed to match her stockings though, so only her pale neck and face didn't match the ensemble.

Bella wasn't going to get into mesh for a while yet. She didn't feel comfortable in it.

The song she'd chosen for her Short Program, was the instrumental version of a lullaby called  **[Lavender's Blue]**. It was a sweet song based off a poem from centuries back, and it gave her visions of fairytales and happy times. So Bella and Aaliyah choreographed a story to that which was uplifting and sweet.

There was more story in this program than there had been in any other Bella had done so far. She hoped the judges took note. Specifically, Ms. Kitteridge who was the one to advise her to focus on her PCS because her TES was fine enough for her current division. If Bella managed to slay this hurdle, then she could focus on something else with the knowledge that she was doing well all around finally.

Aaliyah handed her a bottle of water. "Drink slowly. You've stretched out enough, yes?"

"Yep. I'm doing the Y Spiral instead of the third Camel Spin."

"How about you pay attention to how your body feels when you skate, and if you think you can handle it, then you do it. And if you don't feel ready, simply do the spin instead."

She could agree with that. Skaters did things like that all the time. Though really it was more for jumps and whether they were physically capable of doing it at a certain point, but it was still relatively the same concept. She had only just gotten the Y Spiral down after all and it wasn't super perfect as of yet.

Bella removed her skate guards and handed them off to her coach as the announcers called her name. The gathered crowd of locals all applauded and some every screamed. There were flashes of light everywhere from cameras and mobiles.

She took position in the direct center of the rink, arms held against her chest as if clutching her heart. The music began with a, dare she say,  _magical_  fluttering of wind chimes.

She breathed in slowly, and spread her arms out wide, but gracefully, as if expecting an embrace from someone.

It was such a pretty song, and while the content wasn't sad in the least, it still hit her emotions more than anything else she'd ever performed to.

Bella ended up walking away with first place, and beamed during the entire car ride home. Especially since Ms. Kitteredge had only good things to say after the performances.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Bella was a bit off in the last week of summer. She wasn't talking as much and**   
**she usually calls me every night but she didn't seem all there whenever we got**   
**to talking. She didn't say anything else though, so I don't know what could've**   
**gotten her mood so down if she's accepted the whole illness thing.**

**She'll tell us when she feels ready.**

**You know Hogwarts does offer a re-sort as an option any time you want. It's**   
**a rare thing since most apparently love their Houses, but it does happen. You**   
**might just be one of the people who would do better in another House. I have**   
**always thought that the Sorting thing was ridiculous because no eleven year**   
**old is fully grown yet. Most have yet to be influenced enough to already have**   
**a set personality. People can change from anything and forcing children into a**   
**House filled with only one way of thinking promotes stagnation to me. You've**   
**noticed how rare inter-House friendships are I'm sure. People don't associate**   
**with anyone outside their House so it all seems very backwards to me. Maybe**   
**it worked centuries ago, but times are changing and 11 is too young imo.**

**You seem to hold no loyalty to Ravenclaw and they obviously hold no loyalty**   
**to you. Just keep that in mind.**

**Shi and Yon have in fact gotten on quite well. They are always frolicking or**   
**napping together. I am hoping for a litter from them some time soon. And**   
**if you're allowed to get a Kneazle, I'll make certain to keep you up to date.**

**I also really like the name you chose for your owl!**

**On the subject of the pedophile, the Daily Prophet has been relentless and**   
**their articles have been coming every day. I feel like something big is going**   
**to happen but I don't know what yet. Just stay away from the creep if you**   
**can.**

**Bella just had a competition and there is a clipping attached to this letter,**   
**from the newspaper. I think you'd be interested. Her YouTube channel has**   
**gotten a few thousand more followers and she'll be super excited to learn**   
**that the video of her routines has gotten hundreds of comments and most**   
**are actually good ones! I read them all because I wanted to know what's**   
**going through the minds of the fans.**

**There is some growing hype. Bella's right on the edge of joining the Junior**   
**Division. So more attention will be on her in the coming years. It's going**   
**to be stressful because athletes are always watched closely for everything.**   
**I'm worried about how she's going to handle all of this plus Hogwarts on**   
**top of it all.**

**Good luck this term! What are you doing for Christmas?**

**Amara.**

* * *

"Are the other students actually learning anything?" Hermione had to ask, feeling like she had just been hit by a lorry. Bella insisting on her not buying the DADA curriculum for that year had been shocking enough, even with all the reasons why she shouldn't waste her money. But now she had learned that none of Lockhart's classes were doing anything!

The very first day, according to Ronald Weasley, he gave the second years a quiz about himself. And Percy Weasley confirmed that he did it to the sixth years as well, meaning he most likely did it to all the other students of every year too.

From the examples of questions she'd heard, they were the kind that you'd find on an online quiz to see how big of a fan you were of some celebrity. And her patience had been truly tested with,  _'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?'_. That honestly had absolutely nothing to do with anything in terms of Defence! How was that going to teach the students how to defend themselves?!

A few complaints were made, especially from Percy Weasley who was usually the kind of person to simply follow a teacher's footsteps because he was a bit of a brown noser.

A Howler from Mrs. Weasley had erupted in the Great Hall during the beginning of the second week, and it ended up adding her children to Mr. Lupin's tutoring sessions because she didn't want her children in the same classroom as the pedophile.

A week of school passed and nothing had changed, and with a new week starting, no one had any faith that it was going to get any better any time soon.

"The Headmaster isn't even going to do anything about it?" she asked, bewildered that he would be allowed to continue this incompetence.

Theo snorted. "After the whole Dark Lord situation last year, are you really shocked he's letting Lockhart continue?"

Well… he wasn't wrong.

"Maybe he knows something and is once again hoping to trick the DADA professor or whatever," Bella suggested. "Though I'm annoyed 'cause so many people wasted money on those books and there was a very limited window if you wanted to return them. That window is gone. They've all wasted money that they'll never get back."

"You know," Blaise began, a devious smile stretching his cheeks, "Draco's dad is on the Board of Governors. I'm certain he'd be angry to learn that his son is receiving a sub-par education this year. He could probably raise enough of a fuss to get people to look into the situation and the Board has the power to overrule Dumbledore's decisions at any time. They'll even sack him if they feel the need to."

Hermione had to stamp down the urge to correct the boy on using the man's proper title. The Headmaster had lost a lot of the respect she'd held for him and hadn't done anything to get it back. So she'd keep her urges to herself.

Bella was grinning. "I can get Sirius to talk to Lucius and we can  _politely_  ask Draco to send his father a letter expressing his worry over how his grades will be by the end of the school year should this continue."

Her emphasis on the word 'politely' told Hermione that it would be anything by politely requested. She didn't feel too bad about it honestly. Draco Malfoy was an annoying prat.

* * *

Going into the third week of the school year was when Bella, Theo, and Blaise pulled the mini Malfoy aside in the Common Room and had a nice chat with him. Very sweet and all. Nothing concerning in the least.

"Your father is on the Board of Governors, right?" Bella asked, a misleading smile on her face.

The blond looked immediately wary as he answered, " _Yes_ ," hesitantly. His gaze trailed between her and the boys, wondering who he should be most worried about obviously.

"And wouldn't he want you to get the best education possible? Malfoys don't take second-rate, do they?"

His chest puffed out a bit as he answered more firmly, "Of course not!"

"Do you think you can send him a letter about how worried you are for your education ever since Lockhart stepped foot in the school? And possibly add in that he's been getting a little too friendly with certain students so he makes you uncomfortable?"

Draco stared her in the eye for a few seconds before going wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "Did he really molest Prunella Potter? I thought Skeeter just made that up for the drama, but if she and you aren't allowed to attend his classes then it makes sense!" His eyes went even wider as his jaw dropped even further. "He touched Pansy's waist a lot yesterday. Even when she tried to move away, he wouldn't let go."

Bella's face contorted into a look of disgust. What a creep! He needed to go immediately!

"Okay, here's the plan. I'll tell my mother. She'll pick up on the questionable interest in young girls better than father will. And then she will take the issue to him and get him to do something about it. She's very persuasive and would manage it far better than I ever could. She also really likes Pansy."

"That's good," said Blaise. "Don't make it sound like you're embellishing though. Just write it as you remember it and add details of what you've learned in his classes."

Draco nodded. "I know what to do!" He sounded eager.

* * *

**Mum,**

**School has been rather dull as of late. DADA is even worse than it had been last year and**   
**I can't even begin to tell you everything. But Lockhart only ever talks about himself. And**   
**he mentions his awards multiple times a lesson! Actually, he hasn't taught us anything at**   
**all from the books we had to purchase for his class. Every day we've been given quizzes**   
**on the information in his autobiography, which none of us have. And then he'll grade the**   
**quizzes loudly and whinge about how no one knows anything like his favourite colour or**   
**his favourite fruit.**

**I would have preferred Quirrell, even if he was a Death Eater in disguise. He at least told**   
**us valuable information and he didn't touch us all the time. Yesterday, Pansy couldn't get**   
**Lockhart off her and spent the whole day clinging to Daphne afterwards. She would not**   
**say why though.**

**And you know, even though Quirrell tried to murder Prunella Potter, he didn't stalk her all**   
**the time like Lockhart is. I don't get the favouritism but Professor Black doesn't like it and**   
**won't let either Potter take his classes. They and their friends now get special tutoring. It**   
**isn't fair! I don't want to be in Lockhart's classes either!**

**May I get special tutoring too? I don't want to be in his class anymore. He's unnerving and**   
**makes all the girls complain.**

**Love,**   
**Your Dragon.**

Narcissa Malfoy was a woman with self-control that was simply unparalleled. She'd been groomed specifically for the duty of being a Pureblood wife. She knew the requirements for a woman of her station and was unflappable in the extreme.

And yet even her legendary self-control splintered down the center when she read her son's words.

There was some truth to Skeeter's words after all, and cousin Sirius knew it, which was why he had made certain to remove his children from Gilderoy Lockhart's influence so he couldn't do anything to them. And there was no proof beyond a photo, so there was nothing that could be legally done yet, which was why the rest of the school was still taking classes with him.

Still, the fact that he was allowed to teach at Hogwarts when someone had raised suspicions of him being a pedophile, didn't sit well with her.

Narcissa stood and moved toward her husband's office with haste. She wanted the situation looked into immediately.

* * *

** FAMED AUTHOR  _or_  FRAUD? **

Dearest readers, I have been looking into the history of our newest celebrity sensation,  
one Gilderoy Lockhart, because I honestly find his character to be something concerning  
to the general public. Ever since his hand travelled a little too close to Prunella Potter's  
derrière, I have been studying him near religiously for any other signs of questionable  
behaviour. I've researched every public appearance he's ever made, every interview  
he has ever given, and talked to some of his friends.

My exploration has lead me to a bit of travelling. I found myself interested in speaking  
with the people who've interacted with him before. Former classmates and Housemates  
strangely enough, could not seem to remember a thing about a Gilderoy Lockhart ever  
attending Hogwarts the same time they did. When shown photos of him, they didn't even  
recognise his face. When given descriptions of his character, none could recall even his  
famed method of slow and descriptive speech.

Of course this was strange, so I decided to go abroad and speak with the people in his  
books. Perhaps to get a more personal account since they ended up working so closely  
with him to defeat such great beasts! Surely one would come to understand a person  
after a near-death experience!

What I have found thus far unfortunately, is disappointing. No one seems to remember  
anyone by Gilderoy Lockhart's description. In fact, I have shown his photo to dozens of  
people and no one, not even the people he worked alongside, knew who he was. With  
great concern in my heart, I delved even deeper into this and found that certain people  
listed in his books, do not exist at all.

That's correct. And something that might shock you even more, Pfaeterfjord, the town  
in Norway which  **Wandering with Werewolves**  takes place in, does. not. even. exist!  
Neither on the magical side nor the muggle side. And no one in the magical community  
has heard of anything like the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. In fact, Wagga Wagga would be  
connected to Australia, not Norway. And nobody in Australia knows about a Werewolf  
terrorising their people.

My efforts have shown me that many "facts" in Mr. Lockhart's books just don't add up.  
And many are simply made up. I'm curious about what you all have to say about this,  
and I have forwarded all of my findings to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement  
here in Britain so that they may get to the bottom of this mystery.

Additionally, as if potential theft and even murder aren't incriminating enough for him,  
Hogwarts' newest DADA professor has been caught multiple times, singling out Prunella  
Potter and getting very handsy with her. Certain witnesses have expressed worry over his  
deep interest in a twelve year old girl, and I must admit that these worries are not exactly  
unfounded. It wouldn't be the first time a man used a position of power to get to a child  
at Hogwarts. I'm sure we all remember Belgremmin Blabberfort of '67, or most recently,  
Quirinus Quirrell of this very year.

I can only hope the the Auror Office plans to get involved in these situations in order  
to lay our worries to rest. Madam Bones surely wouldn't allow this to continue without  
at least looking into it just for the sake of our well being and well being of the children.

With questions still burning,

Rita Skeeter.  
 _Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

  **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> [**[Lavender's Blue]**](https://youtu.be/Ow25lvYoKXo). Imagine the instrumental version only though.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of talking and thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The talk you want is in this chapter! ^-^

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"No sane person is going to a Dueling Club held by that twat," Blaise said at breakfast that morning once news of Lockhart wanting to start a new club began to spread.

"The key word in that sentence is, 'sane'," Theo said with a roll of the eyes. "Half of the student population is going anyway because for some reason they think he's attractive, and honestly it's all he has going for him."

Across from them, Bella gave an exaggerated vomiting motion, index finger nearly all the way inside her own mouth. "I'm so grossed out! Don't remind me of these things! Knowing the human population has such shoddy taste is enough to make me permanently ill."

Well it wasn't like they could avoid the fact. The man had numerous female fans who would probably take a Killing Curse for him if it ever came down to such a situation, and they refused to believe the worst of him despite the facts being presented over and over!

"He's enlisted Professor Snape as his assistant however," Blaise added a moment later when he was certain Bella wouldn't actually vomit on the table and ruin everyone's meal in the process. "So I am curious to see what would happen."

Both Theo and Bella nodded suddenly, interested in the line of thought. It was no secret that Snape hated Lockhart and did absolutely anything to prove it. Even going so far as to drug the man's tea with a laxative before he came in to lunch the other week, and then apologising for not having any cures on hand and for being 'too tired' to make any more for him. And then he smiled, a cruel twist of his thin lips as he positively purred, "But surely someone of  _your skill level_  would be able to make your own cure, Gilderoy."

He in fact, did not. And his classes were canceled for three days, prompting a good percentage of the school population, to show Snape more respect than they probably ever had. He was no longer the most despised professor in the school's history.

It was great!

"I suppose we can go just to see what the hype will be about," Bella sighed in defeat.

* * *

Snape ended up knocking the twat out within three seconds of their example duel! The idiot didn't even know how to defend himself and all Snape did the moment his coworker slammed into the far was, was utter a monotone, "Oops."

Blaise had plans to send the memory of it off to his mother so she could enjoy it too.

So it wasn't as horrible as it could have been, especially as Snape proceeded to teach them all the Disarming Charm in Lockhart's place.

The one thing truly proven that evening, was that Snape would have indeed been a better Defence teacher. 'Twas a shame he didn't get the job.

* * *

Albus blinked as several members of the Board of Governors stepped through the Floo in his office. Lucius Malfoy was at the head of the pack, looking far too pleased with himself and making Albus regret whatever was about to happen. The Board getting involved was always so tiresome.

"It has come to our attention that Professor Gilderoy Lockhart has been providing a lacklustre education to the students of this institution and we are here to determine if he should be allowed to keep his job," said Lucius, a pompous air about him. "We will be under Disillusionment Charms. You will tell no one of our presence this day. Our decision will come in the post no later than Wednesday."

The notice of inspection was placed on Albus desk, Signed by every member of the Board with a Black Quill.

He withheld a groan and waved the group on. They'd only barely managed to keep the Board and the press out of the school last term once Quirrell's actions came into the light. And now, if things didn't go well, Albus would have extra paperwork again!

Gilderoy was simply a plagiarist and a good actor who memorised his books very well and had a good portion of Magical Britain eating out of his palms. There was nothing truly nefarious about him, Albus was certain. The Board members would find nothing of substance and their search would be fruitless.

Merlin forbid they take his word for it though.

Albus had more important things to consider. Like how he was going to rebuild the bridge between he and the Potter family once James and Lily were released from Azkaban. Furthermore, how was he going to get Prunella Potter to start taking her destiny seriously?

* * *

"You're doing great, Potter!" Captain Holt shouted when she flew nearer.

She had to withhold the urge to say, 'I know!' back to him. It was one thing to know you were the best at something, it was another to be a great dick about it by bragging aloud for everyone to hear.

But of course she was doing great. Of course she was the best. It was the only thing she was good at, so she dedicated her entire existence to it! And because of that, her 'Natural Aptitude' as Lily had called it, focused completely on Quidditch. Prue would probably never be good at anything else. James exposing her to only Quidditch and Football as a kid didn't really help, but it wasn't like she tried doing other things either. So it was both of their faults.

And now she had to make do with what she had. If she played her cards right, she could be a Professional by fourteen and be on an International Team for decades so long as she kept up the same output of skill.

Captain Holt flagged her down when she came nearer, and she halted beside him with barely a twist of the wrist. "Yes, sir?"

"I want you to try those laps of yours, but this time standing on your broom. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes." That was nothing like what James had her doing. Holt might think he was pushing his team hard, but he'd so far yet to charm thirty Bludgers to be three times faster than usual, all to force them to learn how to dodge properly. James was more of a hard arse than Captain Holt was.

But the effort to improve her performance was appreciated even if she already knew how to broom surf.

Though she hadn't tried the same training on the Thunderbolt yet.

"Get back in there, Potter!"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Bella had a lot to think about in the last month. Too much was coming at her from all sides and she was simply trying to make sense of it all without going spare. And unfortunately some things were more stressful than others.

She found out what was wrong with her, but also found out that there was no way to cure it beyond death. And while Bella would love to have it all fixed, there was no way for someone to die and just come back to life, so she was stuck with this horrible cloud hanging over her head and reduced to hoping that it didn't interfere with her during competitions. If she somehow went through one of her episodes in the midst of a performance she'd be fucked.

It was painful in body and in mind. And having something like that pop up during a potentially dangerous situation if she wasn't focused, was the most terrifying thought. She could hurt herself or someone else if it happened at the wrong time. And she would then go down in history in a way that she wasn't aiming to. It was enough to give her anxiety.

And the most stressful thing about knowing what was wrong wasn't the fact that a soul was attached to hers, or that it was draining her of magic or hurting her for whatever reason. It was the fact that the soul piece belonged to someone whom she had considered to be a friend. But a friend she'd only met that year. How could Tom's soul had been attached to Bella's for several years when they hadn't met before 2012? It literally made no bloody sense! Tom's soul was stuck to Bella's and was hurting her deliberately!

Oh yeah! And Tom was Voldemort!

Or rather a piece of him if that was even possible. Bella didn't act as if she knew everything about magic or what it was capable of.

Tom Marvolo Riddle used an anagram of his name when he was a teenager, because he hated his given name. I am Lord Voldemort. Flight Of/From Death. Tom was very turned off to the idea of dying. She'd picked that much up from him easily over the past nine months. To make himself a new name about ti though was a little dramatic even for Tom.

Knowing that Voldemort was still alive in a sense, even if he was only a spirit, packed on the common belief that he'd obtained immortality somehow. Especially if Dumbledore knew he was still around and wanted to groom Prunella to defeat him some day. All because some prophecy said that she would be the one to do it. As if the future was truly set in stone or something. Bella refused to believe such a thing.

A piece of Voldemort's soul had practically sewn itself onto Bella's and couldn't be removed without death which was kind of a permanent thing and that kind of permanence wasn't wanted.

And Tom didn't seem like he'd known about it. He was very unaware of the state of the wizarding world in the current day and age. He hadn't been spoken to in years before Bella got a hold of him.

And how did she get her hands on him in the first place? Draco Malfoy sent his book as a gift because he forgot to follow Pureblood Tradition and grabbed the nearest thing he saw in the library at home. And Lucius Malfoy was a former Death Eater at the very least, who had managed to get off full charges by claiming wizard mind control or whatever. Tom had been friends with Abraxas Malfoy when he was at school, so either Abraxas had been tasked with keeping the book safe and the duty passed on to Lucius, or Voldemort had given the book to Lucius for safe-keeping back when he was in his own body because he felt he could trust his followers with its safety.

But why?

Tom had said that he was a real person trapped in a book. That it had been his own doing and that she shouldn't pity him because he did it to himself. He said he was supposed to help other witches and wizards. To  _'share his knowledge'_  with them.

What if that wasn't the case? Or at least not all of it? What if there was more to the reason why he was trapped in a book?

Tom was indeed smart and he was fun to talk to, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly impart information onto others without something in return. He was a Slytherin and rarely did they just help people out of the goodness of their hearts. Even their own friends. Power plays were a constant thing in Slytherin. Even Bella participated to an extent with Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass now and then. It was fun to annoy them seeing as she was just a bit above them on the social tier they all occupied, thanks to Sirius.

She thought back to all of she and Tom's interactions.

She talked about the magical world's current political state, and he talked about spells, and laws, and things he knew from his time to compare to what was goign on currently.

Essentially, Bella and Tom had been exchanging information with each other, thereby getting something out of their mutual acquaintance. She had access to his vast amounts of knowledge and he had access to the only link to the real world he'd met in decades.

That was why he'd been so helpful!

So was Tom just using her in the end?

She didn't know the answer, but she  _wanted_  to know. But that would mean that she would have to talk to Tom again and see if she could get the truth from him. But she didn't want to do that yet. Bella didn't feel ready for that discussion and all that would come with it.

Everything he had shared with her, as knowledge, had been true. She'd double checked things just to see the differences between what he was taught, and what was taught now. He did not lie when it came to academics or politics. He did not withhold information simply because she was considered 'too young' by  _some_  individuals, to learn about government-related happenings.

It had been a month since Bella had even touched the Diary. And she knew that her emotional turmoil hadn't gone unnoticed because Hermione and Neville had both stayed over her house and noticed her problem. And Aaliyah had asked if she was doing okay. Even Sirius noticed and he was less in tune with his perceptive side than most people. Remus and Blaise looked perpetually worried for her but had been relatively silent on the matter. Theo acted as if nothing was out of sorts.

Of course Bella hadn't really had much against Voldemort himself. She'd studied up on him because everyone had their own opinions and she wanted to form her own instead of taking on another's. He'd gone to Godric's Hollow that night, but he hadn't aimed to kill James or Lily. He'd knocked them out and went for the prophecy child. That was it.

He did not make James or Lily send Bella away. They had already been favouring Prue long before Voldemort tried to kill a baby to save his own arse. It was not his fault that Bella was abandoned.

And look at where the favouritism got the nitwits in the end. Prison. And their coffers were nearly empty. And both of their daughters hated them. And a majority of the magical population of Great Britain didn't like or respect them any longer.

So she couldn't blame Voldemort for her being abandoned. He had nothing to do with that. And he personally had never stated his beliefs aloud, merely allowing his followers to spread contradicting information that no one else seemed to pick up on apparently. The man had never been vocal about what he'd wanted.

Basically, she wasn't fond of him being a murderer. He'd done nothing to her personally as of yet, she was certain. So having a piece of his soul inside of her wasn't that bad if she overlooked how much it interfered with her learning and how much pain it caused her.

Had Bella overreacted by not talking to Tom for a month?

He didn't act like a Dark Lord, or an evil overlord would in her opinion. She had dozens of comic book characters and video game characters to compare Tom to and he wasn't really anything along the line of pure evil. Well... what  _Bella's_  own definition of what pure evil would be. Good and Evil were subjective ways of being depending on who was consulted on the matter. But to Bella Tom didn't come across as evil.

Maybe it was time to get to the bottom of the situation once and for all.

She prayed to whoever was listening, that it wasn't as bad as her pessimistic side made her believe it would be.

* * *

Neville pursed his lips and sighed at the letter had sent him. It was basically a demand and a threat all rolled into one. She  _'spent enough gold on him that summer so his grades better have improved or else'_. And other things about him  _'not being a good example of the Longbottom way'_. Honestly, that last one was correct. It wasn't as if he wanted to be like his relatives anyway.

The worst part about it all was that it came in Howler form and assaulted him that morning at breakfast. Of course he'd ducked his head and tried to pretend that it wasn't aimed at him, but it was unavoidable.

Susan Bones looked horrified at his left and Hannah Abbott was gaping across from where he was sat at the Hufflepuff Table.

And before the letter could continue on comparing him to his incapacitated father, which he knew would happen because it always did, the letter went up in flames and turned to ashes that fell right in the platter of apples.

When he looked around, he found Theodore Nott pointing his wand at Neville from all the way a cross the hall, a cross look on his face as he practically turned all the way around on his bench to get a clear shot. The Slytherin said nothing in the sudden silence, and Neville didn't either, but he hoped his eyes could convey his amount of gratitude because he wouldn't have been brave enough to burn the letter. This way, Theo was saving him from further embarrassment at his grandmother's words, but also saving him from the possible wrath of his grandmother should she find out her letter got burned. Theo didn't care if Dowager Longbottom liked him or not after all.

Theo was in a similar situation to Neville, though Neville would say his was worse because he lived with a Death Eater. One of the very first if rumours were true. A Death Eater who was very happy to physically torture him with illegal curses all in the name of 'training' him for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's service.

Across from Theo, with a perfect view of Neville, were Blaise and Bella who were sending him worried looks. And Hermione was looking over the heads of the Ravenclaws to see how he was doing too.

He managed a tight smile in their direction before returning to his meal, pushing the apples aside in favour of the oranges.

He wondered if he could stay at the school for the Yule hols.

* * *

"Can we talk for a moment?"

Prue could see the moment Belladonna was interested and how wary her friends became. On some level she understood their worry because Prue wasn't exactly a friend and she was also a Gryffindor who was friends with Ronald who had the habit of picking on Longbottom now and then in class. So there was barely a level of trust between them thanks to all of that.

Still, she was a bit miffed over it since she'd given them no reason to think ill of her, she was certain. She didn't bother any of them and didn't feel the need to perpetuate the stupid war with Slytherins. There was literally no benefit to her in the end from following such a thing anyway.

"Sure," Bella agreed, waving her friends on until they moved far enough down the corridor to be out of earing distance. Granger looked back more than once however. "Wassup?"

"It has to do with Voldemort," said Prue as she pulled out the Map to make certain they were indeed alone. They were. She gave no explanation when Bella turned her questioning gaze upon the folded piece of parchment.

The other girl's gaze sharpened instantly though. "He said more to you than you revealed to the teachers, didn't he?" Very insightful she was.

Prue ended up nodding, not trusting her voice now that it had come to this. She hadn't exactly planned to do this today. In fact, she didn't know if she had planned to do it ever because she'd been scared to. But she'd already gotten her twin alone and had basically started the reveal so she couldn't just stop even though her spine had gone cold.

Prue was no a coward. She simply wasn't adventurous.

"He said something that night. Something that twisted everything around and changed the game. I didn't take it very well and I even tried to deny it, but he insisted. He  _'knew his colours'_  or so he said." She remembered the look on his inhuman face too, and shivered at the image of it.

They'd stopped in the middle of a deserted corridor, Bella looking at Prue with obvious worry. It almost made Prue feel bad for what she was about to tell the other girl. They had no actual reason to care for one another, especially since family was not always determined by blood, but Bella cared for some reason anyway. Enough to speak up about Lockhart and drag Prue away whenever she was around the same time the blond was. It was literally the least Prue could do to be honest even if the reveal may terrifying her.

Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Prue said, "Voldemort said that he attacked the child with black hair. He said his spell hit you, you ate it, and then you sent it back at him through your eyes that were  _'forever changed as a result'_. He said I was  _'coasting by on fame I didn't rightly deserve'_. And then he laughed at me and told me that I better get him the Philosopher's Stone or else."

She wasn't even looking at Belladonna. It had been months since she'd learned this information and she'd thought about it deeply at least once a week. She'd been unsure of whether or not she should say something or just let it go. But then she remembered that Voldemort said he was going after  _all_  the Potters now, simply to save his reputation as a fearsome Dark Lord, and Bella couldn't remain oblivious to the threat on her life. It wouldn't be fair to her in the end, so Prue had to suck it up and deal with the consequences.

"Even after I got him the fancy rock, he said he wouldn't rest until he saw that every Potter was dead. So none of us are safe anyway. Doesn't matter who's the real Girl Who Lived or not in the end."

"Damn," Bella mumbled. "That's a lot at once."

Prue nodded. It was.

"You know, I recently learned some unpleasant information about my health. If I didn't learn that before you told me this, I might have thought you were lying. But this explains so much now.  _Oh my God_."

The Wrong Girl Who Lived looked up to find her twin staring down at the stone floor, a perplexed look on her face as she held a hand to her mouth in thought.

"Oh my God, I got a Dark Lord after my arse. Both of us. Shite."

Prue nodded and decided to plow onward. "In all honesty, I had kind of hoped he would just focus on you when I learned the truth. But then he said we'd all be dead in the end and realised how pointless of a hope it was. I'm not sure I'm sorry about it either." She frowned as she thought about it more. "In fact... I'm sorry that I'm  _not_  sorry for it, because I know it's not the right thing to do even if human nature would compel us to protect ourselves first. I'm sorry I can't bring myself to be a pillar of morality that a decent person would be. I'm not nice and considerate like you. I don't want to die."

The look on Bella's face turned almost amused as the light in her eyes seemed to flicker. "To be honest as well, I knew that he'd attacked you and didn't give a damn about it. And when we found out that he was still alive and trying to return to power, I simply assumed he was still after you and merely shrugged it off as a, 'glad that's not me and it sucks for you' kind of thing. I didn't really care that your life was in danger because it didn't seem like it was affect me at all so there was no reason to think on it longer than necessary. So maybe we  _both_  need to work on our compassion a bit."

That was a relief! Prue knew deep down that it was rather cold to not care if someone was in danger. She simply couldn't bring herself to care about the well being of someone she didn't personally know or care for, like she would with people she liked. It was interesting to know that Bella had basically been thinking along the same lines. Maybe they were more alike than Prue first thought.

"Should we tell people?" was her next question. She was unsure of how to proceed. And Bella was the older twin and certainly  _she'd_  know what to do.

Bella's head snapped up and began to shake from side to side frantically. "Are you mad? Dumbledore knew that Voldy was here all year possessing Quirrell. And he did nothing because he was hoping that  _you_  would live up to the prophecy and defeat him by yourself! And he was annoyed that you haven't been training with him because your parents never told you that he wanted to train you. So if this gets out, he'll try to force being the GWL onto  _my_  shoulders and I didn't sign up for that responsibility!"

She had a point. Prue believed Dumbledore would gladly do that. He had enough clout to make himself a nuisance and if he wanted something he could push to make it happen.

"And to make things worse,  _both_  of us have careers we've been working toward. More important things going on in our lives than having to worry over the defeat of some old dude with a snake face. And according to a friend of mine, prophecies are difficult to truly understand. For all we know the prophecy is fulfilled already. Vanquish and Conquer are synonyms, and he was defeated and left near-powerless.

"We shouldn't do anything now. And honestly, I'm more inclined to do nothing because I didn't ask to be the saviour of the wizarding world and neither did you come to think of it. I have my own life to worry about right now."

"What do we do when he comes back though?" asked Prue, feeling a little more calm than before despite knowing that anything could ruin the moment for her. "He  _will_  eventually come back, even if it's in another ten years. He won't give up. People like him just don't give up even when it's obvious they should."

"I for one, think the adults should be doing  _their_  jobs, and we should continue to do  _our_  jobs. We're kids. It's not out jobs to be heroes and conquerers and vanquishers. We have our own responsibilities to think about. Ones that we actually  _willing_  committed to."

Another point well made.

"What about Longbottom?" Prue asked, thinking of the chubby blond boy who her twin was friends with. The Herbology genius.

"What about him?"

"He was the only other possible prophecy child born at the time. Voldemort chose us himself and if you are the real GWL, you'll have his mark to prove it, but the prophecy said ' _child_ ' born _'as the seventh month dies'_ , not _'the final day of the seventh month'_. Longbottom's birthday is the day before ours, which is still as the seventh month dies, and I wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to try and make him the Boy Who Lived should I not step up and do as he wants if he doesn't find out about you before then."

"Well shite."

"Yeah."

So what do they do with this information? Keep it to themselves? Tell their parents? Well, Mrs. Weasley, Black, Lupin, and Bella's guardian at least. The ones who would actually give a damn if they found out their charges were in danger.

But Prue could only imagine the looks on James and Lily's faces if they found out that the daughter they sent off for being a Squib, was actually the true Girl Who Lived all along. Just another mistake shoved in their faces, would be great, she was certain.

"We'll need to talk about this later. Somewhere better and more secure than a draughty corridor before dinner time," said Bella with a lengthy look around their surroundings.

"Okay."

It had gone a lot better than she thought it would, and that was all she could ask for. Bella believed her, and whatever she had learned recently was a life saver. And Prue had actually confronted something that had been on her mind for months! She felt proud of herself because at least she did it, even if it took time to get it out there.

* * *

"Hello."

Hermione's entire face had to be showing her utter bafflement over finding Luna Lovegood in a wardrobe. The blonde had literally been balled up in the far corner of the magically expanded wardrobe and slipped out the moment Hermione opened the door.

"Why were you in the wardrobe, Luna?"

The girl's dotty appearance didn't shift in the least as she said, "Counting how many Nargles are inside of course." She then looked down to her feet, which were lacking shoes or socks even. "I thought perhaps they'd secreted away my things so I went searching."

Alright! Hermione was done!

Penelope Clearwater would listen surely. She was a muggleborn like Hermione. There was no way she'd let Luna continue to be bullied.

"Want to borrow a pair of my shoes?" offered Hermione. "I know how to shrink them."

"It's alright, I'll manage. But thank you."

The first year proceeded to waltz away, humming a song that Hermione was unfamiliar with.

Glaring at the wardrobe, Hermione cast one of the curses Blaise had taught her, on the handle. Since the entire House had been participating in the shunning of their own, the entire House would as fault for this situation. So whoever got it deserved it, Hermione reasoned.

Besides, it was only a curse to strip the person of their hair if they came into contact with it. It was nothing like the spell Theo had taught her that she was certain she'd never use because it was a bit... much.

* * *

**Hi, Tom.**

All calm that Tom had been trying to force himself into, dissipated the moment Bella's magic seeped into the Diary! He couldn't rush fast enough to get his hands on the nearest quill! It had been so long! He had questions and she no doubt had them too.

He just had to make certain his answers were interesting enough for her to want to continue their correspondence.

_Bella! You've been gone for so long!_

Forever, he was certain.

**It was only a month and a few days, Tom.**

As he said, it was  _forever_.

_It felt like ages to me. I didn't know what was happening and didn't know if I was_   
_going to die at some point. I have no way to pass the time in here but to sit and_   
_think, and thinking was doing me no good because it made me anxious._

He'd added that last part in before his mind had completely caught up with the speed in which he was writing. He cursed himself for showing such vulnerability to someone else! Even if it was Bella. He hated appearing weak!

It ruined the air he always put on. If people were to think him to be just like any other human out there, he would be boring.

**Well I had a lot to think about but I was too emotional to really give it my**   
**attention until recently. I have thought it all through and decided to get the**   
**info straight from you, so don't try lying to me or I'll leave you alone again.**   
**For longer this time.**

Tom wouldn't be able to handle that again.

_Bella, I don't know exactly what happened with my other self. Whatever he did to_   
_offend you, can't be blamed on me. He only told me that I was to be in the care_   
_of Lucius Malfoy and then it was silent for years._

That had been in the late 70s from what he remembered.

Over forty years if what he remembered about the current year was true.

Tom literally knew nothing about what had happened to his other self.

**That is basically what I gathered on my own. But it is nice to have it all**   
**confirmed at the very least. Builds the foundation for the information I**   
**have gathered.**

_What did Lord Voldemort do, Bella? Why did you avoid me because of him?_

Murder or torture would be the only things bad enough in Tom's opinion. He couldn't think of himself doing anything other than that in order to make enemies. He wasn't interested in the same things that his former peers had been. Specifically forcing himself on others in any physical capacity. So it had to be pain-related for it to matter so much, but not pain related to unwanted sexual deviancy.

Tom was not a rapist and was certain he would never become one either.

Besides, intercourse wasn't interesting even if it lead to pleasant sensations for a small period of time, and there were much better ways to display dominance over others than being a filthy pig about it.

So sexual assault could not possibly be one of Lord Voldemort's actions.

It simply was impossible.

**You know that whole story about how my family was attacked and my sister**   
**getting famous from it?**

_Yes._

She had made certain he understood as much as she did after all. They'd discussed it at length, especially in regards to how the fame affected the Potter family so much.

**Yeah, Voldemort was the attacker, Prunella had apparently destroyed him,**   
**and he was gone for a decade, presumed to be dead.**

_How?_

Literally how? A baby couldn't defeat a Dark Lord! They had no magical training of any sort!

Their magical cores were barely functional on their own!

**No one knows. There was a prophecy stating that a child born as the 'seventh**   
**month dies' would have 'the power to vanquish the Dark Lord'. The Potters**   
**were the only family with two children born on the 31 of July, so he came after**   
**us. Obviously he just wanted to end the prophecy child, but when he tried, he**   
**failed, and was gone. Prue was hailed as a hero and I was sent away for being**   
**a Squib.**

**He came back recently. He had been possessing our DADA professor and tried to**   
**get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone that Dumbledore had hidden inside the**   
**castle. And Dumbledore knew he wasn't actually dead, but only told a few close**   
**friends of his. Voldemort kidnapped Prue, forced her to help him get the Stone,**   
**and then attempted murder. Our joint Healing ability from being magical twins,**   
**is what saved her from certain death, but just barely.**

**Anyway, he's still out there roaming around as a spirit, but Dumbledore doesn't**   
**want to tell the world about it for whatever reason. Nor does he want to handle**   
**the situation on his own.**

He was utterly baffled and was trying to piece the information together, but it just made no sense!

A babe had literally destroyed his other self somehow!

_I cannot believe a babe managed to destroy him._

**Neither can I, but it wasn't Lily or James seeing as he knocked them out only.**   
**Somehow his body was destroyed and then he was wandering as a spirit for**   
**however long.**

**What exactly are you to Voldemort, Tom?**

That was the million Galleon question, wasn't it?

Did he tell her the truth, or keep it all to himself?

But if he didn't tell her what his thoughts on the matter were, she might stop talking to him again!

He couldn't let that happen!

The silence had been too much to handle! Not after having company after being alone for so long!

_A piece of a whole. Like that thing attached to you._

**How? How could he have taken a piece of his soul and put it in a book? Why**   
**would he even do that?**

_A very Dark ritual that I don't think I did correctly actually. And it was for protective_   
_purposes. I do not like the idea of dying as you may have guessed. I took measures_   
_to make such a thing impossible and it seems to have worked if he was still around_   
_even when his body was long gone._

**You're actually immortal? Like you can't die or anything?**

_Of a sort. As long as I exist, his soul will remain anchored to the mortal plain, even_   
_if he loses his body. But he shall retain minimal abilities, such as possession. And_   
_whatever he would possesses would decay because possession is unhealthy. If he_   
_were to get his hands on me again, he would most likely be able to absorb me and_   
_return to a human form again._

**So if you were destroyed he would then be able to be destroyed?**

Oh no! He felt ill! Very ill at the turn of the conversation!

What little he'd lived was flashing before his eyes already!

_I would very much like to not be destroyed though! In fact, I had planned to make_   
_more than just one failsafe to immortality. I planned for seven. So there might be_   
_many more out there so even if I'm gone, he could still return to form again._

**Why do you think you did the ritual wrong?**

A much better topic to turn to! And it was one he'd considered at length many times over.

There were certain details he'd overlooked or made assumptions on and it probably cost him in the long run.

_Murder. The book said it had to have been done personally, by hand. The death I_   
_used wasn't even done upon my order, but I thought that it would count because_   
_the events that lead up to it were my fault. The ritual said I would be able to take_   
_a small piece of my soul and seal it into an object of my own choosing, to prolong_   
_my existence. When I did the ritual, something happened and I could see my own_   
_soul and I could see the Dark Magic in an almost black shade of purple, as it just_   
_surrounded the glowing light and rent it in half. A half was placed into the Diary._   
_Me._

_This means I have half of our soul. A human cannot maintain sanity or strength of_   
_Will when the soul isn't whole, but missing a small piece would not have affected_   
_him that much. So if I did it incorrectly, then he went however long with only half_   
_a soul left. And if he made more objects into what I am, then he has surely gone_   
_mad. No avoiding it._

**Well his goals do not seem to make much sense at all. He's never blatantly**   
**stated what it is he wants. His Death Eaters have though, and their claims**   
**contradict one another, so I don't know what he was aiming for.**

_I wasn't a good person when I was at school. I will freely admit that. I grew up in a_   
_time that hardened my heart and mind against specific ideals and beliefs. I do hate_   
_muggles. I will never ever like them. I'm not ashamed of it because unlike my fellow_   
_Slytherins, my reasons weren't indoctrinated into me by foolish parents who didn't_   
_know anything about what they spoke of._

_I did some horrible things in my childhood, I will admit. Most in defence of myself,_   
_even if I went too far sometimes. I do not regret those things either. Some things_   
_were simply because I wanted to do them because I was curious._

_I would have never attacked a babe though. In fact, my immediately thought would_   
_be kidnapping and raising the child to fight for my ideals instead of against me. I did_   
_not want to cause senseless violence. I had plans for magic. I had plans to fix things_   
_I believed should be fixed. Violence was the very last resort but from what you have_   
_told me Voldemort simply skipped over the first three plans and simply went to the_   
_last. Madness has to be the reason._

It would make no sense otherwise. He'd been building up connections for years in Slytherin and the rest of the school. He'd practically had Slughorn eating out of the palm of his hand. Tom had opportunities before him ad surely his other self had at least seen to those once he graduated?

Did all of Tom's hard work go to waste? Did he spend years kissing up to people for no reason?

**Yeah well, Lord Voldemort has murdered dozens of innocent people. That is my**   
**biggest issue with him I guess. I do like you a lot more than him of course, but**   
**you can't blame me for being skeptical of you after learning of your connection**   
**to him.**

_Please don't give me up. Especially not to Dumbledore!_

**He lost my respect so I wouldn't give you to him in the first place. I don't like**   
**him much myself.**

Thank Circe for small favours!

_He was an arsehole to me during school. All because I told him I could speak to snakes_   
_and the drunkard minding the orphanage told him that I was a horrible person. I'm not_   
_good but I surely wasn't that terrible. This is the same woman who had me exorcised_   
_repeatedly because she thought of me as a 'devil child'. But Dumbledore doesn't seem_   
_to get that muggles are very dangerous and that they can cause problems for us if they_   
_find out about us._

_I grew up in the middle of their damn war. I know what I'm talking about. His ridiculous_   
_'love is the solution' belief will get all magicals killed some day._

It was things like that which had to be stamped out of people's minds, in Tom's opinion. Love was no the solution to every damn problem out there. Tom didn't even believe in love, because no one had ever shown him any. His own mother couldn't bother trying to stay around long enough for him. No one else was fighting to care about him.

Love was a ridiculous notion that people without direction chose to put their faith in to make themselves feel like their meaningless lives had a higher purpose. It was simply better to admit that true love was a myth crafted by the pacifists of the world and that it would be more prudent to give up on hoping for it. Love was like smoke. It would eventually fade away into nothingness, which was why it wasn't real.

**He seems to be a bit of a dreamer instead of a doer. I'm all for pacifism but if it**   
**comes at the expense of the well being of the people, then is it really pacifism or**   
**is it passiveness? Think of it. Dumbles knew that Voldy was still around. He knew**   
**he was in the school all year. He did nothing even when he had full access to his**   
**magic and could have no doubt done something then and there, but 'cause he put**   
**all of his faith into some prophecy, he did nothing but allow Voldy to do whatever**   
**he wanted because he was hoping to force my sister into facing him somehow so**   
**she'd fulfill her destiny.**

**This dude is the one who defeated Grindelwald, but for some reason he can't do a**   
**damn thing about Voldemort. The lack of logic astounds me.**

**I wouldn't give you up. You don't seem like a horrible person and I do like you as**   
**a friend of sorts. I'm just an emotional and mental mess. Especially since there is**   
**no way to get rid of this soul piece thing and it poses a problem for me.**

**And on that note, do you think I'm like you? That I could be used to bring him a**   
**body again too?**

That hadn't come to mind for him, but it was possible with all things considered.

_I… could feel a connection to you when we first met but I didn't understand why you felt_   
_like me at all. So maybe you are. That would explain why only death can free you from_   
_it. Only destruction that cannot be repaired, can destroy a Horcrux, which is what I am._

**So essentially I'm stuck like this.**

_Yes. Apologies._

If she  _was_  a Horcrux, there was nothing he could do.

But she would need to live even more now!

**And you can't suck it out of me or whatever?**

_This is actually a problem I have. To be honest, I do hold powers of my own, but they_   
_don't seem to work on you. I cannot latch onto your soul at all. However, I could latch_   
_onto the souls of your two friends who stayed over in the last days of August. But I felt_   
_you'd be disappointed if I absorbed their magic and souls to give myself a body, so I did_   
_not try it on them._

He didn't want Bella to hate him after all.

**Wait, you can posses people too?**

_In a way. But only with magical people because they have a magical core. You have to_   
_understand how boring it is in here and how much I would love getting out. And if I did_   
_escape I'd never go back to Voldemort. I don't take orders, even from myself. Especially_   
_when my other self has lost his way it seems. I did spend the first month with you trying_   
_to gain some control over you, but I failed. In the end I just simply had to hope that I was_   
_interesting enough for you to continue talking to me._

**At least you're honest about it. That has made me angry though.**

_I would apologise, but I don't want to be in here anymore. I like having freedom and I'm_   
_willing to do just about anything to get it._

Being a prisoner, if he could borrow a term of Bella's, sucked.

It was worse than being locked in a cellar for three days for being a 'devil child'.

**And there's no way short of the murder of another person to get you out of it?**

_That, or I absorb another Horcrux if there is one. You have your own soul and magic and_   
_I for some reason, cannot connect with you, so I do not think I could take the soul piece_   
_from your soul. However, I could absorb another's soul and magic, or absorb another soul_   
_piece from myself, and then I would have a body again. Of course I would only have half_   
_a soul, which would not do well for my sanity in the long run. So maybe finding another_   
_Horcrux is just better. The more soul I have, the more sane I will be in body._

And should he ever meet Voldemort, it would make it easier no doubt, to overtake him.

The larger soul piece should be able to win in a stand off.

**This is all a mess. Why couldn't you find a better way to be immortal? Why all this drama,**   
**Tom?**

_Why couldn't the damn muggles stop bombing my home city and constantly putting my life_   
_in danger so much that I rushed in head first and grabbed the first offer of immortality that_   
_I could find?_

**Okay. I'll give that to you, dude. Panic and anxiety do not always let you think, not do**   
**they always make sense. You have proven your point. You win this one.**

_So what now?_

**Well, you don't seem to be lying, and this past month has been hell for me. So I'm not**   
**going to avoid you anymore.**

_Thank you._

It was like the clouds had parted and a ray of sunlight fell upon his shoulders.

He felt oddly warm even though he shouldn't.

**But from now on I want all the info. If you think you know something that maybe**   
**I should know, please don't hesitate to tell me, even if it doesn't seem like I will**   
**handle it well. Straight up honesty is the best route for me I think. At least I will**   
**know that you respect me enough to not lie. And I promise that I'll help you get**   
**out of there so long as you promise to not go off Dark Lording and murdering the**   
**inocent.**

_Thank you, Bella._

If he believed in such things, he'd swear she was an angel.

**Now that that is out of the way... Tom, I learned like the worst news but it also**   
**explained a lot for me and I'm not sure if I'm scared or happy tbh!**

_Are you dying?!_

**What? No! Why would I be happy about that?**

_It's not as if I could guess otherwise from the very sudden and unpleasant notification_   
_from you! You seem to forget that I have been in this thing for a month without your_   
_company to know what is going on in your life!_

**Chill, dude. It's not that bad I guess.**

Her perpetual insistence upon calling him 'dude' was annoying.

Although it was a step up from when she called him, 'my guy' for a week straight back in June.

**Anyway, my twin had informed me today that Voldy and her had a bit of a convo**   
**during the drama with the Stone last term. And Voldy admitted to him attacking**   
**me instead of Prunella. Specifically the 'black-haired girl'. Prue's a ginger through**   
**through and looks more like Lily. We look alike save for the colouring.**

**Apparently, I ate the curse he shot at me and it came out of my eyes, and the curse**   
**changed my eye colour in some way. My eyes are a few shades of green lighter than**   
**Prue's, which makes sense. And if I didn't know that your soul was clinging to mine,**   
**I wouldn't have believed her, 'cause how the hell would Voldy get his soul inside me**   
**in the first place? But this makes sense now! The scar on my chest is filled with his**   
**Dark Magic. The same magic in the soul piece sewn into my soul!**

Tom felt so old all of a sudden, and he shouldn't!

_I'm baffled. You ate a curse. Spat it back at your attacker. Lived. Somehow took in a piece_   
_of his soul in the process while his body was destroyed?_

**Yeah, I don't get that part either. It's all a bit much to be thinking about imo but we**   
**need to get through all this info so we can understand what happened.**

_Perhaps he was so unstable by that point that when his body exploded his soul did as well?_   
_If he continued making the Horcruxes after me and his soul got smaller and smaller as time_   
_went by, then he would be barely kept together in the end. And if he used the Killing Curse,_   
_which severs the soul's tie to the mortal plane, like when you clip the string of a balloon, then_   
_it would have a negative effect of some sort. On an incomplete soul that is anchoured to the_   
_mortal plane no matter what happens, it would certainly have an effect at least._

It was the best answer Tom could come up with.

If Voldemort had continued on to seven Horcruxes, and his soul was split into at least eight pieces in total if Voldemort was counted with the seven Horcruxes, then he had to have been fractured beyond repair. And a piece of his tattered soul would have escaped whatever hold it was in, and clung to whatever held the strongest pull of his magical signature. And without a magical core to find, that left a wand and a cursed babe.

Just how far into madness had Lord Voldemort gone?

**This just couldn't be easy, could it?**

_Not in the least. But you have a possible explanation for what happened to you and I think it_   
_is the best news currently. On the other hand, Voldemort knows you're the one who survived_   
_his attack and he'll no doubt come for your life. I'm a very possessive and jealous individual._   
_I would never take defeat well and if he's more unstable than me, it'll be worse in his mind_   
_than it is in mine._

**Yeah. Prue said he plans to kill all the remaining Potters anyway. So we're all just**   
**majourly effed no matter what.**

_I would suggest learning how to better defend yourself. You are talented in DADA and that_   
_could really help you later on. Best to take advantage of the time you have now before it's_   
_too late._

**Are you scared that you're going to lose your only link to the outside world, Tom?**

_No._

_I honestly want nothing bad to happen to you. Which is strange for me since before you I'd_   
_cared for no one but myself because that is how the world taught me to think. It isn't very_   
_comfortable having emotions and being afflicted with a conscience._

**Aw, Tom! You say the sweetest stuff sometimes!**

_I do not!_

**Yes, you do! I'd miss you if you died too. Don't worry, dude.**

_I wasn't!_

_And stop calling me, 'dude'!_

* * *

Seeing the Aurors appear in the Great Hall that morning had been something no one had expected. One moment they were sat down to breakfast and the next there were dozens of armed wizards in uniforms stalking through the double doors, with Madam Bones leading them.

And their reason for being there caused a stir the moment they left.

"Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart, you are wanted for questioning under advisement of the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

And to make the story even more juicy, the blond had looked around in a panic, fired a silent spell at the Head Auror, and then tried to flee out one of the side doors at the back of the Hall. And it was Snape of all people, who stopped him with a well placed, Expelliarmus that sent him flying straight into the door and left him unconscious, in a crumpled heap on the floor. It was like deja vu from the Dueling Club, and it was beautiful.

They got his wand and found a startling amount of Obliviates that had been cast on it, and with grim faces, the Aurors had to institute a check over of each and every student to be on the safe side.

Lockhart had a history with the Unspeakables and worked as an Obliviator for a time. He was very good at making people forget and they'd found proof of him Obliviating the real people of the tales in his books. And they found it concerning that the last fifteen spells on his wand, were the Obliviation spell, and the sixteenth was the petrifying spell. Why would he need to use such a spell so many times in a school of children?

And with Rita Skeeter's unending attention to the fact that he'd groped Prunella Potter in Flourish and Blotts, they couldn't ignore the possibility of him being a pedophile and possibly having assaulted the children. Especially with certain tips from concerned parents after letters their children sent home, had made them aware of his attitude toward the children.

It was an unfortunate revelation when seventeen students had to be sent to St. Mungo's to undergo further examinations to make certain they were okay because they'd been forced under Obliviates and that could mean potentially concerning things.

And yet all Prue could think of when she'd been checked over and told she was fine, was that she was glad she wasn't one of them.

Was it selfish? Probably. Did she care? No.

She'd already been molested by the creep and was glad he couldn't get any further no matter how much he obviously tried to in the past couple of months. Though it was unfortunate that others ended up suffering at his hands instead. And the even sadder thing was that they certainly weren't the only ones he'd gone after.

How many more victims of his were there?

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Lockhart got arrested! It's all over the news and his fans are ready to**   
**riot! Mum was in Diagon Alley this afternoon, getting us some magical**   
**fruits, and it's all people talked about! The Prophet's building was full**   
**of civilians expressing their... displeasure at the articles they've been**   
**publishing. Screaming at the workers, even the ones who don't write**   
**the articles.**

**A few threats to the Aurors were made and people were escorted out**   
**of shops for their behaviour! It's terrifying to think of what a nation of**   
**people would do all because someone they thought was a good person,**   
**ends up being the opposite but they just don't want to admit it. And the**   
**fact that someone tried to commit arson at the Leaky Cauldron shows**   
**that these people operate under a cultish mentality, which isn't safe.**

**It's worrisome what could happen under our noses.**

**I hope you're doing well and please tell me you and your friends were**   
**not among the students he managed to get his hands on! Mum's been**   
**going spare with worry and she called Aaliyah about it. Aaliyah is not**   
**too thrilled either and she wants to do horrible things to Lockhart. I'm**   
**all for them naturally. I think he's one of those people who deserves**   
**to suffer from violence, especially if he's as bad as Skeeter has been**   
**saying.**

**He didn't get to Prue Potter either, right? I know I don't know her at**   
**all but Bella has been worried even if she tried pretending she wasn't.**   
**But when someone you know, even if just barely, is harmed even with**   
**you right there and around them all the time, it's unnerving for anyone.**   
**'That could have been me' will be something a lot of students'll think**   
**in the coming months. It's a sad reality.**

**Hoping for no more bad news,**   
**Amara.**

* * *

  **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people get what's coming to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I like this chapter.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

** GILDEROY LOCKHART! SECRET LIFE! THIEF, PAEDOPHILE, and MURDERER!  **

It has finally come to a head, my dear readers! All of my efforts to bring you the  
complete truth have lead us to this moment! And while I am proud that my work  
has uncovered such dastardly actions from one of our very own wizards, I would  
like to take a moment on the side to express my condolences for those who have  
suffered at the hands of this monster. No one deserved to suffer through this and  
my thoughts are with the victims and their families in these trying times.

Additionally, I have started a campaign through the Heart to Heart Foundation to  
help the families affected by this man's actions and if you would like to show your  
support, continue to Page C-1 for more details.

Onto the story you came here for.

Gilderoy Lockhart is a Halfblood wizard born 26 January in 1964 to a muggle and  
a witch. His two sisters were born Squibs and he didn't get on with them because  
of it. He fancied himself more special than them for having magic. Gilderoy came  
to Hogwarts in 1975 and was sorted into Ravenclaw, where he spent all seven of  
his school years being borderline unremarkable, maintaining decent marks in his  
classes but was constantly too lazy to truly give his all because he suffered from  
the delusion that he was a genius and did not need to prove himself to anyone.

His classmates can recall nothing of him as I've pointed out in one of my former  
articles. Aurors are currently tracking down each and every one that is still living  
or mentally stable enough to be considered healthy, and checking them over for  
signs of interference.

He developed his own shampoo a year after his graduation from Hogwarts, that  
has proven to give the user perfect hair. Some ingredients are far too expensive  
as Occamy eggs are too rare and the method of creation is too dangerous to be  
safe for anyone to attempt legally, meaning it cannot be mass marketed.

At some point he joined the Unspeakables. Not much information was shared but  
we do know that he was a Master Obliviator under the direction of Head Croaker.  
His skills with memory charms were lauded as some of the best the department  
had ever seen. They were very sad to let him go.

He left that line of work not even two years ago, and began to travel not too long  
afterward, going from town to town and picking up the different stories that had  
been left unannounced for so long. Little corners of the world where the magical  
communities are so small and out of the sphere of society that we have forgotten  
they exist. Tasmania, Liechtenstein, and Lithuania are among the list where he  
visited.

Gilderoy collected the tales from the true heroes and Obliviated them from their  
memories. He then made certain to remove his existence from the memories of  
everyone he came into contact with, to better protect himself should questions  
be raised.

The tale of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf was said to happen in a town in Norway  
that does not exist. The story actually occurred in Wagga Wagga Australia, the  
muggle city that was being plagued for months by unknown animal attacks. The  
muggles had come very close to discovering werewolves at the time and drastic  
actions had to be taken.

For the name of the  **real**  heroes whose achievements were stolen, continue on to  
Page C-2.

I'm certain everyone will be interested to know that Hogwarts' Headmaster Albus  
Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is actually good friends the real wizards behind  
the heroics in  **Voyages with Vampires**  and  **Gadding with Ghouls**. As a matter  
of fact, he's been friends with them for decades and would certainly know of their  
courageous exploits. Yet for some reason, he said nothing when Gilderoy Lockhart  
published a book using the exact same exploits but was taking full credit for them?  
And he even said nothing when the man applied for a job at Hogwarts and had the  
two tales on his reading list for his students. Could Albus Dumbledore have been in  
on this charade the entire time? Is Lockhart cutting him a generous piece of money  
in return for silence? Do we need to worry for the education of our children if Albus  
Dumbledore is allowing frauds inside his school so easily and without complaint?

Dear readers I'm as concerned as you are for the future education of the children.

Now we have touched upon the Thief side of his life, but where do Paedophile and  
Murderer come in, you may wonder? If you are easily squeamish, I would advise  
you to skip ahead.

His little sisters answered this question for me very well. The three did not get on  
because Gilderoy was controlling and saw himself as superior to them for having  
magic he could use when they didn't. He demanded much of them as he grew up  
and became enraged when they did not comply. There is an age difference of five  
years between Gilderoy and his sister Angrabella, and seven between he and the  
youngest child, Tuppence. He was seventeen when he attempted to initiate sexual  
contact with his youngest sister and he was banned from home by his father with  
a promise to expose him if he so much as stepped foot in the door ever again.

Dozens of Hogwarts graduates have been to St. Mungo's so their memories can  
be returned/restored and many who had been first years when he was a seventh  
year, have come forward with their own unfortunate experiences. The names of  
which are listed in his upcoming court hearing.

Come upon this summer where he blatantly molested Prunella Potter in Diagon  
Alley, under the watch of no less than one hundred people, and no one seemed  
to notice or pay it any mind. But her twin Belladonna did, and Lord Sirius Black  
contacted me with his concerns because Prunella felt uncomfortable and didn't  
think anyone would believe her. I promised to look into the situation as best as  
I could, and I have as you can see.

As if my article questioning his intentions hadn't even existed, Gilderoy started  
his tenure at Hogwarts and immediately, as noted by students and professors,  
began trying to get Prunella Potter alone. He also touched first and second year  
students far too much and it was recently revealed that several had Obliviated  
moments with him where he took advantage of them or almost did before nearly  
getting caught.

The list of those names have been withheld due to all victims being minors at  
present and request from their parental guardians.

The last side is the Murderer side of him. How could he be a murderer?

One of the people he plagiarised, was more resistant to memory charms thanks  
to her proficiency in mind magics. To silence her, Gilderoy murdered her in cold  
blood and set it up to look like a muggle had robbed her home and set it aflame.  
The crime was witnessed by a local whom he then Obliviated. The local's memory  
has since been returned to him and the encounter was recorded by our Aurors.

So there you have it, folks! One person managed to be a Thief, Paedophile, and  
a Murderer all at once! For all we know, these are not the only charges against  
him. More might come into the light soon enough as the investigation is still on.

I implore everyone to think hard on these revelations.

Why are they so shocking? Why did a grown man think he could sexually assault  
a child in broad daylight and not get remonstrated for it? Has our society been too  
lax when it comes to justice? Have we perhaps allowed such despicable actions to  
go unnoticed or even allowed them to become accepted behaviours? Where has  
the line been drawn? Why do victims not feel safe enough to bring their stories  
forth?

What can we do to make this better?

Me, myself, and I would like to know.

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

"The best early Christmas present ever!" the Weasley twins chorused that morning in the Great Hall. And, to further show their excitement, the twins unleashed one of their newest creations on the other students, which was called  **Instant Snowglobe**.

A sphere of shimmering light would surround a specific person for an entire minute and they would immediately be snowed upon from above. Nothing could penetrate the globe itself and the snow was warm. Any sudden movements jostled the snow against the sides of the sphere, making the snowglobe effect it was named for.

When Bella saw them, her very first thought was Pokemon related, and she ended up pulling Fred aside to say, "You know, you should test how strong that is. If it's capable of stopping spells, it could be marketed as a shield of sorts if you rework the original intention of it."

The ginger's gaping made her giggle, but she couldn't help it. It stopped physical touch and if it managed to stop all manner of attacks, that could be dead useful in many professions.

"You are an angel!" Fred said, planting a kiss on the apple of her cheek. "Georgie is going to love this!"

When she returned to the Slytherin Table, she was met with confusion from Blaise and Theodore, on why she trekked across the Hall in the first place and then got kissed by a Gryffindor ginger.

"I was just advising the twins on a move that could prove lucrative in their futures."

Blaise shook his head. "I fear for Zonko's continued success if those two manage to make their own business. Zonko's has come out with nothing new in the past few years, but those two make something new every few months."

Perhaps the Weasley twins simply had better minds for that type of business.

* * *

Bella was on YouTube currently, going through the comments on her last video and answering as many as she could. Her Bellas were mostly excited by the Triple Lutz she'd showed them in the training segment of the vlog. Bella had even gone a little overboard by doing a little jig right afterward to celebrate the success.

Someone asked if she was planing to upload about piano videos again. It had been over a year since the last, and she felt kind of bad about it. Piano just fell a bit to the wayside as other things came up in her life.

But she'd gotten the Disney music down already and had created her own arrangements based on what she'd learned. She took the basics and merely improved upon them until they had just a bit more meat to them.

 **3A-3T 4Me:**  Will you be doing anymore piano covers?

 **BP2M:**  I will get another one out soon. I promise! ;)

She could do a medley of each song in the book so everyone could have a part they liked. It might take a few days since she had some exams before Christmas to get through.

 **wings-of-vibranium:**  U gonna try for a quad yet?

 **BP2M:**  I am working on the Quad Toe Loop. I'm getting better with every practice and under-rotating less and less with every attempt. :)

She  _was_  too. She'd finally gotten the hang of the rotations. It was simply landing properly now, that was her main goal. A landing, even if it was a sloppy one, would get her the Base Points for the jump anyway.

 **I_am_Shinobi_Marie:**  I'll be at the competition this week and I can't wait to see you! I hope you stick with the Lavender's Blue theme. That's my fave lullaby.

 **BP2M:**  That's my theme all season, don't worry.

 **HollabackGoi1:**  Yo! Congrats on 90k! Anything special planned for 100k?

 **BP2M:**  I hadn't thought about that but I promise I will plan something.

Something special once she hit one hundred thousand subscribers? Q&A perhaps? Livestream? Piano?

She'd talk it over with Aaliyah to get her input.

 **TheOutside Edgelord:**  Much excite for juniors! You come to my country for first junior gpf. You win, this I know.

 **BP2M:**  :) There's no guarantee that I'll make it to the Finals in my first Junior Grand Prix circuit, but I appreciate your faith in me. I'll try not to let you down.

Bella didn't intend to lost in her first JGP run, but there was no guarantee she'd get gold. Though she was a bit ahead of her peers in technicals and in recent years TES were becoming more important over PCS.

She'd join the Juniors officially before starting her fourth year at Hogwarts, and she was excited.

Maybe it was time to amp up the training again?

 **WIP NaeNae:**  How's Aoife doing?

 **BP2M:**  Being very lazy! All she does all the day long is lay around but then the moment the moon comes out she's hyper and dramatic and sings herself hoarse!

And completely uncaring over losing Bella some sleep too. But she loses the others some sleep as well so it's not as bad as it could be. And attacking someone's pet was equivalent to a challenge to a duel. And the House was aware that Bella would defend herself if it came down to it. No one in her dorm would dare start a physical or magical fight.

 **Awroity Gentz:**  Have you been keeping up with VGs? There's a lot of new games I want to get my hands on and I can't wait!

 **BP2M:**  Nah! Training's been upped a lot more recently so I have even less time than I did before. I'm not even up to date on my programmes!

 **Elena Perez-Vasquez:**  You ever been to the states?

 **BP2M:**  No, but that'll no doubt change once I reach Juniors.

* * *

Hermione knew a lot of things. She liked to study and get informed about everything and anything. It was always a hobby of hers to explore information. And sometimes she was faced with things that were difficult to believe, and she would have a difficult time believing them to be possible. Her pessimism was definitely a problem.

But even if somebody had different views than her, she would  _never_  bully them for it. Even if she found the very odd things they said to just be impossible. Even if none of her senses could verify what they claimed to be the truth, Hermione would have never stolen someone's possessions and mocked them at every turn for what they believed in.

She had been bullied relentlessly back in primary. She knew what it was like to be treated horribly by everyone around you for being even just a little bit different. Hermione would never devolve to such things.

Even now in her own Hogwarts House, she was bullied. But the way she was treated was with a sort of indifference. She was ignored all the time and sneered at, at most. That was it.

What her peers were doing to Luna Lovegood however, was even worse.

The girl was blonde, blue eyed, and dainty. She had a sort of mysterious air about her and looked like she was off in her own little world constantly. She wore strange patterns and large earring that looked like radishes, a necklace of bottle caps from Butterbeer, and a pair of odd 3D-like glasses rested atop her head at all times. She also carried a magazine called  **The Quibbler** , around with her everywhere she went.

Her father was the Editor in Chief of the publication and it wasn't looked upon as very realistic media in Magical Britain. People didn't really take it seriously at all or considered them to be 'normal people'.

As such, Luna Lovegood was dubbed Looney, and made the newest punching bag of sorts, for the collective Ravenclaw House.

So far her shoes had been stolen, and she'd walked around for the past few weeks barefoot. Her trunk had been 'misplaced' several times. She'd been locked in a wardrobe, and Hermione ended up being the one to find her on accident. Her assignments always ended up destroyed beyond repair and she lost House points because of it.

And yet she never said anything to anyone or tried to get help.

Hermione had thought that the Prefects would at least speak up, but no. Not even her fellow muggleborn, Penelope Clearwater, was doing anything about it. Hermione even tried to talk to her about it and was told she was overreacting. Nothing had worked!

Hermione did not like being in Ravenclaw. The House of Acceptance didn't seem to be very accepting. They didn't really embody what Rowena seemed to stand for according to  **Hogwarts: A History**.

This was why she was stood before Professor Flitwick's desk, spine straight and chin jutting outward defiantly. Amara's advice was ringing in her ears. "I would like to be re-sorted, please?"

Her soon-to-be former Head of House sputtered around his long beard, looking horrified at the very suggestion, but Hermione wasn't going to budge. Hurt feelings be damned.

"Whatever for, dear girl?" Flitwick managed to ask once he caught his breath and composure.

"I have been treated nothing but terribly ever since being sorted into Ravenclaw. I have no friends, and am constantly being mocked for one reason or another. They always sneer at me when I come around, and I have learned that there is no such thing as Acceptance in the House that boasts it as one of their character traits. They are judgmental, irrational, and dare I say it, downright evil."

It looked at if someone had fired multiple shots at the professor, his tiny chest seemed to cave in on itself with every scathing word that passed her lips. Hermione didn't care. Perhaps he needed to open his eyes and realise just how terrible his students were.

"And how they treat me is nowhere near how they've been treating Luna Lovegood. Stealing her clothes, calling her mad, nicknaming her Looney, ruining her homework. I found her locked in a wardrobe in the Common Room the other day, professor. She'd been in there for ages and tried acting like it was fine. I tried talking to Prefect Clearwater but she's in on it and told me I'm over-exaggerating. Apparently, a little girl roaming the castle without any shoes ever since her first week here, is something I made up. Apparently Luna has  _not_  been losing points every day for not being properly dressed. I am fed up with the lot of them, sir! I want nothing more to do with them and am certain I will not be placed in Ravenclaw a second time. People change and my desire for acceptance has faded completely."

She was out of breath by the time she finished, but she was just so frustrated by everything that she didn't care to contain herself.

"I see that you are very adamant about this, Ms. Granger. I suppose we should head on up to the Headmaster's office then."

The walk was silent save for their footsteps and the sounds of fire crackling in the passing torches. The office was guarded by a massive stone gargoyle that moved aside to reveal a spiral staircase when Professor Flitwick said, "Sherbet Lemon."

Up the stiars lead them to a wooden door that was only knocked on once before they entered.

She'd never been to the Headmaster's office before, but it was more than she had imagined. Portraits lined every free space on the walls. Trinkets littered every flat space one could find. Bookcases filled to the brim with knowledge yet to be explored. It was whimsical and magical and everything Hermione wanted to explore. But also really cluttered and difficult to navigate through and made her want to tidy up.

"Headmaster, Ms. Granger wishes to exercise her right to a re-sorting."

Dumbledore's great beard seemed to wiggle a little, but he said nothing. He merely watched as Flitwick retrieved the Sorting Hat from one of the bookshelves and beckoned Hermione over.

The old and tattered hat was placed upon her head for a second time, and the voice within tsked.

_It has been years since a re-sort was required. I rarely see into the mind of students **after**  they've been sorted and I'm disappointed that Ravenclaw has become so prejudiced._

Hermione was as well.

_On a far more pleasing note, you have managed to settle into yourself by now and you actually know what you want in life. You even have a list of goals you wish to see accomplished and are already setting your plans into motion. Yes, while you value knowledge, you understand that knowledge is power and that you'll need a lot of power to see your plans through to the end. I know where you'll achieve greatness the best but it'll be an uphill battle and should you overcome that, you'll overcome any obstacle you'll face thereafter._

" **SLYTHERIN!** "

She would be with Bella, Theodore, and Blaise! It was better than she could have hoped, but she understood what the hat meant.

 _Thank you,_  she mentally whispered before it was removed.

When she looked down, the lining of her robes changed from bronze and blue, to silver and green. She beamed, pleased with this new road her life had taken and feeling much more clam with the knowledge of her new House.

The hat was not finished it seemed, as the seam split apart to say, "I recommend putting all of Ravenclaw on probation from House Points for the foreseeable future. They seem to value something that will not benefit them anywhere else in life, more than they value human life itself. And get the Lovegood girl some help, would you? She could use a re-sort as well." The seam resettled once again and the hat became still.

Flitwick sighed but nodded. "Ravenclaw will withdrawn from the Point System for this school year and shall not be allowed to earn any points until 1 September, 2013. So mote it be."

A ball of gold light flashed at the tip of his wand, and then all was back to normal.

Hermione felt that to be a fitting punishment. Over four hundred points completely gone. They liked taking credit for her achievements but couldn't even treat her with basic decency, and now Hermione was going to be putting those efforts toward Slytherin.

She could only imagine their faces when they found out!

"We'll look into Ms. Lovegood's situation, Ms. Granger. I promise. I'm sorry that it had to come to this."

* * *

Severus Snape stared down at the bushy-haired girl standing in front of his office door. His dark eyes latched onto the trunk in her one hand, the green lining of her school robes, and the half-Goblin who was obviously her former Head of House, standing right beside her.

"Meet your newest Slytherin, Severus! Ms. Granger requested a re-sort. I have much work to do in handling my eagles and I hope you'll do better by her than we did."

Filius was obviously filled with rage and was barely containing it for the sake of the child standing beside him.

He found himself interested in what the Ravenclaws did to make a normally composed man want to spit fireballs. Angering a Dueling Champion was simply not done, as the Ravenclaws would soon learn. Filius, while sweet and grandfatherly on the outside, could be just as harsh as Severus if given just cause.

Severus nodded and stepped from the office. "Come, Ms. Granger." The first muggleborn in Slytherin in the last decade. Merlin, he was going to be dealing with so much drama from this.

Flitwick made a hasty retreat, leaving him to lead the girl down to the dungeons.

"I assume your friends have made you aware of how Slytherin works, Ms. Granger?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you will know of the attitude expected of you. You will comport yourself properly when outside the Common Room. Do whatever you please so long as you are not caught, when behind closed doors. Keep your eyes open. You are not the first muggleborn to be sorted into Slytherin, but you are the first in a long time and will be treated with open contempt at the very least."

"I'm no slouch with a wand, sir."

He knew very well. She was the best overall in her year. Something that made the other students mad with envy. How could a muggleborn be so gifted with a wand? It was called studying. Something generally unappealing to most children.

Belladonna Potter's group of friends always managed to be at the center of the most interesting situations. He simply hoped the girl could truly defend herself because Slytherin worked differently compared to the other Houses and she needed to be sharp to stay above the waves otherwise she'd be pulled down by the ankles and left to drown.

* * *

**Hermione's in Slytherin now!**

It was probably the nest thing to happen in the last week! Bella had been so excited because it meant that she had a friend to share her dorm with. She didn't often talk to the other girls unless it was to trade quips with Greengrass and Parkinson.

But now Bella and Hermione could hang out more outside of studying!

 _Hello to you too, Bella. I'm having a smashing day, thank you for asking. It's always nice to_  
_know my friends care about me._

He was such a snarky bugger!

Even if he was right!

 **Yeah, hi. Sorry. I'm just so excited! She went to her former Head of House and told**  
**him what was going on and asked for a re-sort. I don't know what the Ravenclaws**  
**were like in your time, but I've yet to meet a decent Ravenclaw, that is for certain.**  
**They're all pretentious twats and I'm super glad Hermione said something before I**  
**had to get involved. Because I do have violent urges no matter how much I try and**  
**pretend I don't.**

Bella, while she rarely thought about that part of her personality, did in fact enjoy lording over others she'd deemed lesser than herself. And she liked to think of her process of elimination as fair. If you were a bully, you were lesser. If you were racist, you were lesser. If you were homophobic, you were lesser. So on and so forth. Very simple to understand.

And if you were stupid enough to lay hands or magic on another person without just reason or provocation, you deserved to get beat for it. So Bella would gladly administer such a beating and enjoyed bringing those who picked on her, to harm.

It was a  _bit_  concerning, but it wasn't like she went out and started fights herself. Bella was not an instigator and her violence was only reactive. She just really liked violence itself, which would explain why she liked video games with a lot of fighting.

Anyway, it was best that Hermione had taken action herself because Bella had been coming very close to getting on Batman's bad side by getting caught doing bad things outside the Common Room. And she had yet to receive a punishment from him and  _really_  didn't want one!

And it also meant that Hermione got away from their horrible influence! And she was now with friends!

Everything was better for everyone this way.

 _I fear she will not have an easier time in Slytherin however. Muggleborns never have, and it_  
_isn't uncommon for Muggleborns to be sorted into Slytherin, no matter what anyone may try_  
_to tell you._

 **True, but she's got me, Blaise, and Theo at her back here. And Slytherins are, not to**  
**be mean when I say this I swear, predictable. They are anti-muggleborn all the way**  
**and don't pretend they aren't. Ravenclaws pretend to be all nice and kind when they**  
**are really quite horrible through and through. No one will fake being on her side in**  
**this House and I think it's better the devil you know. It's good political training.**

And it wasn't like Hermione wasn't good at Defence. She could kick the arse of anyone who tried to start something with her. Secretly, Bella was hoping Parkinson did something stupid so Bella could watch Hermione destroy her.

Bella was all for supporting her fellow women when they weren't being pieces of spoiled shite. Draco Malfoy was more tolerable than Pansy Parkinson and that was saying something!

 _True. And the Sorting Hat would never place someone somewhere they couldn't handle. If the_  
_hat believed she would be able to make it work in Slytherin, then she will._

 **I'm so happy, like, you have no idea! I don't really talk to the other girls in my dorm**  
**so this is a great change and both of us will no longer feel lonely or misunderstood**  
**by everyone in our dorms!**

 _It wouldn't hurt you to try and build relationships with the Slytherins other than those who are_  
_your immediate friends._

What an unappealing thought.

Bella had never been good at making friends. Out of everyone in her primary school, Amara had been the only one she'd kept in contact with after leaving. And she was the only friend Bella'd had for years.

She wasn't the most outgoing person and was uncomfortable talking to strangers. Faking it wasn't always easy either.

 **We have nothing in common though. The girls seem to have been born for a single**  
**purpose only. To follow Pureblood traditions and have no actual characters of their**  
**own. I can barely tolerate being around such an archaic thought process. It's, like,**  
**the most anti-feminist rubbish I've ever heard, dude.**

Always be subservient to the husband. Must be capable of good breeding for children. Must be a virgin before marriage. Must dress in whatever the husband wants. Must wear their hair how the husband wants. Must quit their job to become a social butterfly the moment they marry. Must service the husband whenever he wants. Must have the friends the husband wants her to have. It was like a broken record and none of the others girls thought it was wrong or ridiculous. Hermione had been horrified when she'd heard Bella complaining about it at lunch one day back in their first year.

Why would she want to hang out with any of them? Who the hell would  _want_  to hang out with any of them?

Bunch of slaves to the wizarding patriarchy.

 _Perhaps you simply need to introduce them to a better line of thinking. The same with the_  
_boys. One thing that Purebloods do far too much of, is tradition. There will be a tradition for_  
_everything if you bother to search, and it does get tiresome after a while. Everyone does the_  
_same thing expected of them over the past several centuries and no one questions it or even_  
_tries to introduce even a little disorder._

_Some things do need to be changed._

**Yeah. I'm gettin' Fiddler on the Roof vibes.**

_?_

**It's a musical _(it was made into a film in the 70s)_  based on a book about a Jewish town**  
**in Imperial Russia back in the 1900s I believe. The musical's great! And the one song**  
**is called "Tradition" where the main character, who is called Tevye, explains how the**  
**village has traditions they uphold despite nobody remembering the origins of them or**  
**why they continue to bother besides through the faith. Tevya is trying to maintain his**  
**religious and cultural traditions in the story even though influences from outside are**  
**encroaching upon their small corner of the world and making changes all around them.**

 **So when I hear about how the Purebloods operate, it kinda makes me think of that, but**  
**with far less pleasant connotations of course.**

_Interesting. I am constantly reminded of how much I have missed._

Poor Tom. It has to suck being stuck in a book for decades.

She wondered if it smelled like old arse paper in there. The pages weren't yellow though, so maybe not.

 **Don't worry. I doubt many magicals know anything about films or broadway musicals.**  
**They tend to like staying on the magical side and not venturing into the muggle world**  
**at all. That would explain why you all still use quills and such when we have fountain**  
**pens that hold ink for months! No need for inkwells; no dirty fingers. I also like to use**  
**lined notebooks instead of old parchment 'cause I do not have time deal with how to**  
**properly dry parchment after doing an assignment or learn how to maintain the health**  
**of a quill.**

_It certainly sounds more efficient._

**If we ever get you out of the big bad book, I promise I'll show you everything. There**  
**is saying that goes along the lines of 'work smart, not hard'. And I find it should be**  
**applied to wizards 'cause they take the long way around for literally everything and**  
**I don't know where the logic has disappeared to.**

 _Don't ask me, for I am as lost as you are. Some things made no sense even in my time. I'd_  
_planned to change them._

From everything he'd told her about his time, he wasn't exaggerating.

If Bella thought magical people were too dramatic and made no sense now, she could only imagine them in the early 1900s.

 **I just love collectively dumping on the wizarding world with you! It's nice to have**  
**someone around who is aggravated by the same things as me.**

_Great minds think alike, dear Bella._

**We're magical bosom buddies!**

_Please don't._

She couldn't help but cackle! Bella had a way with annoying Tom! He reached the end of his tolerance very quickly. It's was hilarious!

Such a shame than no one else could come and annoy him too! He needed more socialisation.

 **Yeah fine. Anyway, my mind is bloody spectacular if I do say so myself! It is of no**  
**surprise that we get on so well.**

_And your character is quite the humble one._

**Not at all! XD**

_Sometimes I wonder if I am lucky that you were given my diary, or if I am unfortunate and_  
_am suffering unknowingly. Just blind to everything by my relief at not being alone anymore._

 **Nah! You don't mean that! Where would your life be without my glorious presence?**  
**How many magicals are stupid enough to continue writing in a book when they find**  
**out that it talks back to them?**

Though it wasn't as if she could be blamed entirely! Bella didn't grow up around magic and the first thing Hogwarts does is shove a magical, talking hat on the heads if its students. They were expected to trust something that looked into their minds and revealed their secrets, so why not trust the nice book that talked back when she wrote in it?

 _I don't even want to guess. I fear the number will do nothing but give me a headache I should_  
_not be able to have in here._

 **K. Fine. But would anyone be as interesting as I am though? You gotta admit that I**  
**am pretty cool if you're looking for a tour guide into a new way of life! I have yet to**  
**lead you astray!**

_No comment._

**Come on, Tom! You're supposed to be nice!**

_I never agreed to that._

**I did it for you, hakuna matata, dude.**

_?_

**It means 'no worries'! LE GASP! I haven't told you about The Lion King!**

_Oh dear. Is this another film?_

**Strap yourself in, Tom. I'm about to tell you one of Disney's best tales! Inspired by**  
**Shakespeare's Hamlet and the life of Joseph from the Bible, I think. You are about**  
**to learn about the 'Circle of Life', dude. It moves us all.**

_I'm jumping for joy. Truly._

* * *

Luna Lovegood fiddled with her earrings and stared at the Wrackspurts practically  _covering_  the Headmaster. For some time she and her father had been certain something was a bit off but now she had full proof. The only way he was making such foolish decisions was if something was interfering. His brain was just a little too fuzzy to be completely sane.

She wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying, but Luna didn't need to. She'd already Seen what was going to happen and knew what was being said ahead of time. This was just her personally putting her own assumptions to rest.

When the room went silent once more, Luna nodded. "I  _would_  like a re-sort, Headmaster. I will be in Hufflepuff."

Both the man and Professor Flitwick sputtered at the surety of her tone, and even tried telling her that the sorting didn't work that way, but she could not be swayed when she knew the outcome already. It had come to her on her third day of school after all.

The Sorting Hat was placed upon her head, and the old, wizened voice rang clear.

 _So you knew this was coming all along, eh? Could you have not acted sooner so you wouldn't have to suffer through those few months?_  the Hat asked.

Luna gave an obvious, physical shrug. _I only see one future at a time and could not be certain that acting early than the vision showed, would give me a better future. You see what I Saw. You understand how meaningful this will be in the future._

 _Of course,_  the Hat agreed.  _I simply don't like the students being hurt. Hogwarts despises it too. She was created as a protection for magical children, but it seems her intended purpose as been ignored._

Luna hummed in agreement. All of the Houses strayed from what they were originally meant to be, not just the Ravenclaws. But change was coming.

_I can see that. I suppose there's no need to prolong the inevitable. You would indeed suit Hufflepuff best now._

" **HUFFLEPUFF!** "

With a smile, Luna handed the Hat back to her gaping, former Head of House, already thinking of how she was going to become best friends with Belladonna Potter and her group. Luna's mum would be happy to know that Luna would have the best of friends.

She couldn't wait to write her father and explain to him everything that gone on recently! And he'd be thrilled to learn the Headmaster's obvious ailment. Maybe they could send him some home remedies to rid him of his pests once and for all. And then maybe he'd return to making intelligent and well thought out decisions.

Maybe if it was published in the paper, it would convince the man to get himself the help he desperately needed.

* * *

With Lockhart gone. There was a free space left for Defence and Lupin ended up taking the position up as a volunteer. Again. In Prue's opinion, he had taught better than Quirrell and Lockhart combined and it was stupid that he wasn't allowed to officially have a job all because he had a furry problem three days out of every month. It wasn't like he  _asked_  to be a Werewolf, and it wasn't like he wasn't secluding himself from the populace during though hard times.

The Ministry was full of idiots. The man had been living at Hogwarts for a decade with his husband. Snape had been providing his Wolfsbane Potion ever since, and there had been no incidents of him attacking anyone or being a danger to a student. So why couldn't they fix their stupid laws and just let someone with the competence, teach?

She was bitter. It was a glaring problem and it as people whispering in Fudge's ear, that made her detest the little arsehole. He didn't like to use his brain, and instead just let everyone else think for him while slipping him the gold he so desperately cleaved to.

His Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Jane Umbridge, was a beast of a woman. Most of the anti-creature legislation being pushed was because of her. She tittered and simpered to Fudge all the day long and he didn't think it a bit odd that he always ended up doing as she wanted in every situation.

It was people like Umbridge populating the Ministry, that made Prue despise the Ministry of her own country. She would never get a job for such people and couldn't wait to dash all the hopes that she'd become some great Auror who would go around defeating Dark Wizards left and right and conquering Dark Lords every single day of her life.

Prue was good at Quidditch, and Quidditch was where she would stay until her body no longer could handle it.

"Ms. Potter, please pay attention," Lupin announced with an expectant look.

The girl sighed but sat up.

Lupin returned to the diagram the projector was showing, and Prue slipped right back into her thoughts easily.

She wasn't planning to go against evil people or anything, though Voldemort was still a very obvious threat of course. So she might end up having to defend her own life one day. But she wasn't going to make a career out of it. She felt no interest in defending other people because she knew damn well most people were cowards and wouldn't put their lives on the line for her.

Prue wasn't the kind of person to place herself in harm's way when it came to her life. Quidditch came with risks of injury, but they would never remain for long, so she didn't have to worry about dying there. But if certain death was assured, she sure as hell wouldn't be participating in anything!

She valued her continued existence, thank you very much!

Belladonna wasn't planning on becoming an Auror either. The true Girl Who Lived was into ice skating and she and Granger had been talking a lot about Squibs and magic and how to lower the Squib population by making it so they could use their magic. So she was going to become a Master of something and be an inventor/healer of a sort once she was done with  _her_  sport.

The magical world would simply need other heroes to do the work for them for neither Potter child was up for it.

She could only hope that Voldemort either failed at whatever he tried next, or somehow wasted away to nothing in the meantime so they wouldn't have to deal with him at all.

* * *

"Don't worry, Neville," soothed Luna with a calm smile, "things will work out fine."

He was still a bit nervous at the idea of introducing her to his friends since he never brought anyone over himself, but she'd told him it would all be fine.

"We're all going to be the best of friends, Neville. Magical Britain won't know what hit them."

* * *

Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels. Figure Skater. Heiress Black. Hogwarts Student. Slytherin. Girl-Who-Lived. Prodigy.

So many titles to her long name. So much to have to pay attention to thanks to said titles.

For figure skating, she was advancing at a steady pace. Her accomplishment of the Y Spiral had lead to her wanting to practice the Hydroblade a lot more now. And her Tap classes had been very helpful on the creativity side of figure skating. How to translate such quick movements to the ice and make stunning choreography when Aaliyah challenged her to do so.

She won her first competition of the season, and then managed to win her second. Her fans were excited for the one coming up in February. Especially since Sandra Lewis was going to be competing too. She was Bella's most direct competition as of late, and she too had a guardian who had been a figure skater. Because her mum had done her own choreo years ago, she was very insistent upon Sandra paying close attention to hr PCS above anything else, which left her to Doubles and that single Triple ump she'd managed.

Bella was more rounded in terms of skills though, which meant more consistent overall. Jack of All Trades essentially. Better than a master of one.

She was still receiving tutoring from Remus and Sirius on how to be a proper Heiress to a Pureblood family. And she was then given free reign to turn her lessons loose on her fellow Slytherins for practice. Who else would be able to keep up with the near-savage methods of an old, Pureblood family? So far she was on the right track to being a good Lady Black when the time came.

Her grades hovered between As, EEs, and Os. She was maintaining a pleasant level of skill on the better half of the grading scale, which was good enough for her. And she'd had no episodes since before school had started up again. Save for Lockhart's existence, things had gone over very well in her opinion.

The relationship to the rest of Slytheirn House hadn't gotten any better unfortunately, but she hadn't expected it to. More than half of them had family who had been Death Eaters. And even if no one knew that she was the  _real_  Girl-Who-Lived and believed Prue to be such instead, they still hated her by association. And she was born to a Light practicing family which had a habit of forgetting their roots and condemning anything they considered to be 'Dark'.

While those in her own year were generally accepting of her just fine, the older years still tried to start drama now and then. She'd never forget when Hermione finally witnessed a  _real_  Slytherin confrontation!

A Fourth Year that Bella didn't know the name of, had cornered them after coming back from dinner. He'd said some snide words about their blood purity and made vague threats with his wand. This hadn't been the first time it had happened to Bella, so she had been perfectly prepared to put him on his arse.

But they had both forgotten Hermione.

The bushy-haired brunette whipped out her wand and had the boy hogtied and silenced in the blink of an eye. She proceeded to run him through the ringer of how his thought process was rancid and unappealing and how his family line was going to die out from all the inbreeding spreading its disease through his disgusting blood. She said not one swear word in the entire rant, but she might as well have because it was intense. And then she finished off with, "When you fail to pass on the family line with your infected blood, I will be sitting in the lap of success as Britain's Minister for Magic, and laughing at your failure. I might even be generous enough to say something nice at your impending funeral. I'll be the only one in attendance, that's for certain. You were born infected, you will die infected, and there will be no one among your equally infected fellows to mourn you."

The House had been baffled and Bella couldn't stop grinning for hours.

Hermione being sorted into Slytherin was the best thing to happen that school year!

Of course the levity would be ruined soon because the idiots would be out of prison soon and of course they'd be incapable of keeping quietly to themselves. They were Gryffindors after all.

She wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

  **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh the drama!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -And the idiots are released from prison.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**Amara,**

**Life in Slytherin is a lot less stressful than it was in Ravenclaw. I'm always**  
**with Bella pretty much everywhere I go, and I never feel like they're using**  
**me for my brain. I've already won the House almost 100 points since I was**  
**re-sorted and instead of just smugly smiling to themselves, people've told**  
**me I'm doing a good job and to keep it up. They're actually acknowledging**  
**my efforts here instead of taking credit for them and patting themselves on**  
**the back!**

 **Of course not everything is easier. More than half of the House was reared**  
**with incorrect information about muggles, muggleborns, and squibs. I have**  
**encountered a few extremists in the Common Room but after my display of**  
**power to the last person, no one under fourth year seems willing to hex me**  
**any time soon. I'm keeping my eyes on the older years too though. I'm a bit**  
**wary of going wand to wand with any of them no matter how much I read**  
**ahead and practice.**

 **Anyway, because they're operating under false teachings about those like**  
**us, I'm hoping to work on proving them wrong. The first ridiculous notion**  
**is that muggleborns have 'stolen magic' from magical people. I have heard**  
**this regurgitated at me many times recently and I had to say something of**  
**course because it got boring quickly.**

 **Most people of Magical Britain are pagans. Even if they do not worship the**  
**Greek Pantheon, most believe it. They believe Hecate is the mother of our**  
**magic and she was the one to grace us all with it. So if we go by the logic,**  
**and I'm using that word tentatively here, then she's in control of who gets**  
**magic and who doesn't. I pointed this out to a few people and asked them**  
**if they believed she had been unaware that somehow people unworthy of**  
**her magic, were using it? I asked if they had so little faith in their goddess'**  
**control over magic and her realm that she was too weak to control who got**  
**magic and who didn't?**

 **The overwhelming response was a resolute 'NO'. They really don't like being**  
**accused of poor faith which isn't really shocking. Most religious people don't**  
**like being questioned. I then pointed out how if someone has her magic, then**  
**she obviously must have taken the time to consider if they deserved it or not,**  
**and that it isn't their job to tell her what to do or determine another person's**  
**worth.**

 **But someone by the name of Flora Carrow pointed out that squibs mustn't be**  
**considered worthy since they were born without magic, to which I was happy**  
**to point out that they had magic and simply couldn't use it. The knowledge of**  
**squibs is not well known, so I explained to the group who bothered to listen,**  
**that there have been many squib Seers in our history, and a Seer needs magic**  
**in order to get visions of any sort. Those squibs experienced visions often, but**  
**couldn't perform any magic of their own, nor could they bond with a wand.**

 **The utter bafflement was hilarious! But it lead to me having to reveal a list of**  
**sources so they could look these things up themselves if they want to. It was**  
**simply a common disinterest in squibs and the taboo of talking about them in**  
**families that allowed people to go this long without knowing this information.**

 **I also explained that Bella's looking into a way to make it so squibs can have**  
**full access to their magic.**

 **I also told them about my plans to study the blood ties of muggleborns. I've**  
**had this hunch for a while, but there was a famous Potioneer by the name of**  
**Hector Dagworth-Granger who was founder of the Most Extraordinary Society**  
**of Potioneers back in the late 1800s. Blaise was the one who brought this to**  
**my attention, and he said I should get a blood test done at Gringotts to see if**  
**I'm related to the Dagworth-Grangers.**

 **I checked their line thanks to the school library and found many Squibs cast**  
**off, and one was named Henry who was born in 1934. My father's father was**  
**named Henry and he was born in '34, and never had family or so he claimed.**  
**Henry Granger who married my gran when he was twenty and had my father**  
**at forty. The coincidences are too strange to simply ignore them, so I have a**  
**theory that muggleborns might not even exist and might just be children of**  
**squibs, who have magic they can't use!**

 **I know, it seems a bit far-fetched, but I'm going to gather any muggleborns**  
**I can so we can determine if my hypothesis is plausible. For now it seems it**  
**is.**

 **I'm really excited, and I think some of my fellow Slytherins are interested**  
**in my findings!**

**How are things going with you?**

**With much excitement,**  
**Hermione.**

* * *

Twelve months. It had been twelve months since Lily had been lead into her filthy cell at Azkaban. Today was the day she would grasp freedom and she was just… a mess to put it bluntly.

Lily had thought that her time wouldn't be so terrible. She knew enough about muggle prisons and had assumed that Azkaban would be the same. It wasn't as if she and James had murdered anyone. Frankly, she found their supposed crimes to be very simple and not worthy of a Dementor visit. They weren't the worst a person could commit after all.

Things in Azkaban worked differently apparently. The top cells were no different than the bottom cells. Everything was cold and filthy even though no insects resided inside. There were no maximum security cells or wings or anything of that nature. Everything was exactly the same for everyone, and Dementors patrolled the corridors outside the cells constantly. And sometimes, they'd draw near to the bars and even come in because they wanted to.

They'd never touch, but they would simply remain close enough for the effects to be even worse than they normally would be from a distance. And the Aurors stationed around did nothing about it because in their minds the prisoners deserved it.

Another thing she learned, was that there was no such thing as a shower. Normal prisons had showers. Lily hadn't been allowed to clean herself in twelve months. Her hair was completely matted to her head, and was a bit sticky for some reason. There were smears of something unknown on her arms and her legs and feet were nearly black.

It was all very unsanitary. The prisoners didn't even get hit with a cleansing charm now and then!

Her mouth tasted of clay and her magic-binding shackles were much more loose around her wrists than they had been when she was first thrown into the prison. They didn't always get three meals a day. The Aurors who had to deliver the meals sometimes 'forgot' to do their jobs, not that anyone really cared.

She didn't even know where James was, and she couldn't bring herself to care about him. It was his fault that they ended up in Azkaban in the first place! He just wanted to whatever he wanted and couldn't even bother to be a real parent. Lily was the only one who'd done any sort of parenting and look at what happened anyway!

Lily wasn't the one at fault and she was aggravated that she'd gone twelve months in this hell hole because of James!

* * *

The House was dark and dusty. Of course, once he considered it, Sirius wouldn't have Prue stay in Wales where she would be alone. It wouldn't look good on him after all. She was most likely in London at Grimmauld Place, stuck in that creepy, haunted house that had never been fit to live in. Like the Black's own personal Azkaban.

But from the look of things, she hadn't been home in a long time and the Elves hadn't been around either. It wasn't necessarily a mess, but it wasn't clean either.

Lily shrugged past him as she headed for the stairs. He chose to ignore her sour mood in favour of getting a shower. Since Lily was no doubt heading for the loo in their room, James would simply have to use the one in Prunella's room. It wasn't like she was there to complain about him invading her space anyway. And it was his house, passed down through his family, so he could do as he wanted in it.

His hair was filthy. He'd already decided to just shave it all off and let it grow back. The Potter hair always grew quickly and was always an artful mess. He'd be looking fit within a month if he kept up with his meals and appearance. He couldn't say the same for Lily who was more vain than even James was.

She valued her precious red hair too much and despite knowing she should cut it all off and just let it grow back naturally or take a potion to induce hair growth, she wouldn't. Lily had no problem cutting anyone else's hair and demanding their daughter keep her hair short for whatever jealous reasons over Prue's hair being nicer to look at, but she hated it when people offered unsolicited opinions about her own hair.

The hypocrisy was not lost on James.

All Lily did was complain about everything and try to control everyone around her. Sometimes he wondered why he'd fancied her at all. All that stalking in their fourth year wouldn't have happened if he knew being married to Lily would be this unpleasant. He would have stalked someone else much better if he wanted a better future. Half of their graduating class would have been better in the long run. He'd wasted so much time trying to get her attention either by pestering her for a date or targeting Snape just so she'd look at him. Just worthless efforts now that meant nothing.

With grimace at the state of his hair, James lifted his returned wand and cast a charm on his favourite razor. The blade moved on its own and began hacking away at the mess of brown that had grown to his shoulders but still managed to defy gravity by growing every which way it could.

He'd never known that Azkaban didn't allowed showering. He'd assumed it did because wouldn't it be unhealthy to not keep clean? Diseases spread through filth after all. Though he'd also learned very quickly that no one cared about whether the inmates were kept in good health or not. Even someone who was simply a day late to paying their taxes suffered the same degree as a murderer did which was ridiculous.

Their justice system was kind of unfair. He had half a mind to make a complaint about it. Surely it wasn't humane to refuse food and water among other things? He'd needed to refresh his memory on the laws of Azkaban itself before doing anything. He wasn't that daft after all. Going in without knowing those laws would only make  _him_  look like an idiot.

The hair and the beard were gone finally. His face was gaunt and his eyes appeared sunken in, but he looked more alive than he had before he'd cleansed himself. It was proof that he'd return to his old self eventually, it would just take some time.

Something cold trickled down his back and he whipped around in search of whatever it was, but there was nothing but him in the bathroom. For a second he'd imagined a Dementor sneaking up behind him! It had felt just like it did whenever they would enter his cell and would just hover ominously in the doorway.

He was far away from them now. He was fine. And if he played his cards right, he'd never be near them again.

Lily was still in the shower when he entered their room in search of his wardrobe and the clothes that should still be in pristine condition. There was no reason for Prue to go into their room and touch their things after all. He could hear his wife cussing to herself and knew immediately that she was having one hell of a time with her hair.

Once clothed, James made his way downstairs where he noticed the stack of letters on the kitchen table. Not even a stack really, It was just a mess of them dumped on the slab of wood and left there without a care in the world.

Of course there were things he had to see to after a year away. Things he'd have to look into as soon as he could.

He flicked through the pieces of folded up parchment, ignoring those that weren't his.

Lily. Lily. Lily. Lily. Lily. James. Lily. Lily. Lily. James. Lily. James. James. James. Lily. Lily. Lily. James. Lily. Lily. Lily. Lily. So many letters for Lily, what the buggering fuck did people want with her? She wasn't  _that_  interesting.

Once the piles were separated James took a seat and began rifling through his own and choosing the ones that appeared to be the most concerning.

When his eyes landed on the words, 'Chudley Cannons' he sat up suddenly, his memory jogged. Prunella had joined the team last season before he was taken away! It was no doubt an important piece of information for him to know!

He ended up reading the piece of parchment four times before he realised exactly what it said.

**'You are no longer Prunella Alula Potter's Auxiliary Beneficiary.'**

**'As of 14 August 2012 you will no longer receive a cut of Prunella Alula Potter's cheque.'**

**'Sirius Orion Black III has noted that Prunella Alula Potter shall remain as the single Beneficiary of her cheques until the time her contract is up.'**

* * *

**WORST NEWS EVER, TOM!**

Bella had this habit of being very dramatic and just exploding with information out of nowhere. She would simply appear and then drop unpleasant information on him whenever she felt like it.

It was never good, he'd come to learn, and he hated it.

_What? Are you ill?_

**Why do you always think I'm dying when I say I have bad news?**

Tom hummed to himself as he thought back to all the times she came to him, complaining about something terrible or stupid. About her birth parents, about her teachers, about the government, or her own illness, or Voldemort's actions.

So really he couldn't be blamed for assuming the worst. And the worst thing in Tom's mind was...

_Because dying is my biggest fear, Bella! And I don't want you to die obviously._

**Aw! Such sweet words!**

_Don't even start this again. What is wrong this time?_

He didn't have the patience to argue about his supposed kindness at present. Perhaps later on, when she didn't seem so panicked which in turn made him feel panicked.

All these stressful emotions he hadn't felt in so long! He hated them.

 **I'm not letting you off the hook that easily, but we can postpone that topic of**  
**conversation for later.**

 **Anyway, Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 have been released from prison and this means**  
**so many things. We can't predict their actions so there's no way of knowing**  
**if they plan to make this big public spectacle or if they are gonna attempt to**  
**be sneaky about it. They aren't Slytherin though; I got no hope in regards to**  
**the sneaky option actually. They're a bit too obvious, you know?**

That was unfortunate. Gryffindors didn't know a thing about giving up when it was pointless to continue. And that would very well try to get back at Bella's godfather for what he'd done to imprison them. They obviously hadn't seen the error of their ways.

And they might even attempt to start some rumours to cause the Black Lord trouble in hopes of getting custody of Bella.

_Would you say they are destitute now?_

**No, but they'll have to get jobs again, according to Prue, because the money**  
**can and will run out with how fast they like spending it. They do not seem to**  
**know a thing about budgeting. Or saving. Or planning wisely.**

Something most Pureblood families were guilty of. They had money in their vaults that had been built up over the centuries. None of them truly needed jobs of their own because they could live an entire lifetime of ease if they so desired.

Most families had their account managers handling their finances and rarely personally got involved with savings and the like. Meaning that didn't learn how to make their money last. And it would seem pointless if they just seemed to have an endless amount of it anyway.

But now the Potters were short a lot of gold and living another century on whatever they had left probably wouldn't be comfortable.

_Then both will most likely get jobs at the Ministry thanks to their classifications._

**Would they really hire convicted felons?**

_Yes. If what you have told me about the Death Eaters who are allowed to keep their_  
_jobs because they claimed Imperius, is true, the Ministry will certainly take them in._  
_Besides, your egg donor supposedly is a Runes and Charms Mistress and those are_  
_skills you can't ignore. And Aurors are always wanted for one reason or another. An_  
_extra wand makes lighter work and stronger defences._

 _Of course if they get jobs again, they will be in the ample position to influence their_  
_coworkers and may try to start drama that way. If a good enough act is put on, they_  
_can trick many people into their favour again, which wouldn't be good for you in the_  
_long haul._

**Well shiznit!**

_Indeed._

Even though they were Gryffindors, he wouldn't put it past them to try such tactics.

Not all Gryffindors were stupid.

 **And when they find out that Prue sectioned off her own money from theirs,**  
**they won't be very happy. Do they even know she has been adopted by Mrs.**  
**Weasley yet? God, can you imagine the shite that'll eventually go down from**  
**that alone?**

 **At least Rita Skeeter is in Sirius' pocket so they wouldn't be able to get her**  
**on their side. Not for whatever paltry sum of gold they've left to the family**  
**name.**

True. They would want to save up whatever they had left because they would regularly lose one hundred thousand Galleons a year thanks to the the trust funds for their daughters removing the money annually as most Pureblood families did.

And because it was contracted in blood centuries back, it couldn't be stopped or amended. In fact, the children could take legal issue should their trust funds not get the required amount legally transferred to them yearly from the family vault. It wasn't done often because most families didn't have those kinds of problems, but it  _could_  happen nonetheless.

 _It was a brilliant move of your godfather to buy off one of the most prominent people_  
_in the media._

**Thanks. It was my idea. He's a Gryffindor and he didn't think that far ahead.**

_Impressive, dear Bella._

**:)**

When she displayed her Slytherin side, he felt proud. Rarely was Tom proud of actions that were not his own. He simply never cared about another person enough to pay that much attention to their accomplishments in order to feel proud of them.

Bella's influence obviously caused this.

 **The woman has some morals at least. They're totally skewed and not exactly**  
**the best of morals, but they exist. Some things even she would not stand for**  
**and the Potters happened to touch upon a lot of her problems. Then Lockhart**  
**fits in with her hatred of paedophiles too.**

_Excuse me? Your DADA professor is a paedophile?_

How?

Why?

**Yeah.**

_WHY HAS NOTHING BEEN DONE?!_

He had many more questions than that but it was a good start!

 **They only recently took him away actually. Dumbledore refused to fire him or**  
**whatever 'cause of the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing. So Skeeter**  
**went out and started getting proof. And kids began writing concerning letters**  
**home. I got Malfoy to write his mum so she could make his dad who's on the**  
**Board of Governors, do something about the shite education that the students**  
**were receiving in Lockhart's class and also look into the accusations behind**  
**his interest in children.**

_Well done, Bella._

**Yeah, I'm great! :)**

**Anyway, Skeeter found a lot of bad stuff! And the Board were peeved royally.**  
**Aurors had to come in and check over everyone because the creep was good**  
**with memory charms and students had to be taken to St. Mungo's. Honestly,**  
**it's all disgusting and I wish it never happened to anyone.**

Tom felt ill at the very thought of it.

And the wretched worm had been allowed into a school full of children.

His prey readily available for months.

_Were the teacher's behind Dumbledore's decision?_

**No! Batman especially hates Lockhart and did nothing to hide it. And every**  
**other teacher had been mocking him the entire time he was here! It was a**  
**beautiful sight!**

_I hate Dumbledore._

It wouldn't be the first time Dumbledore did poorly at his job. He'd proven ages ago that he was a shoddy professor and a judgmental arsehole, so it wasn't like Tom was shocked by any of this coming from the man himself.

Dumbledore had a habit of thinking only  _he_  knew best and ignoring the blatantly obvious facts right in front of his bespectacled face!

 **Yeah, I don't like Dumbles either. His inaction sucks but he is not to blame**  
**for Lockhart's actions that stretch back decades literally.**

 _He did nothing when accusations against Lockhart came out, despite having a bit_  
_of power in the situation._

Dumbledore was certainly partially to blame for the children being accosted.

 **I suppose. Turns out he knew all along that some of Lockhart's books were**  
**false since he's actually bffs with the people behind the real stories in them.**  
**But he decided to say nothing, so I suppose he is to blame too.**

 _Hogwarts needs more help than I thought it would if your DADA professors end up_  
_being so horrible and no one is willing to do anything about it._

**Well…**

_What now?_

What else could there possibly be?

 **Rumour has it that Voldy was the only to curse the position 'cause Dumbles**  
**refused him a job here in the fifties or something. Ever since then, not one**  
**Defence teacher has been the same. So really this is your fault by extension**  
**by throwing a right tanty.**

_I hate you._

**No you don't! :) I'm your favourite person ever!**

_Certainly not!_

Tom did not have favourite people. Tom didn't even  _like_  people.

Though he supposed Bella  _was_  much better than anyone else he'd ever met. If only by a little bit.

**Yes I am! How many times have you told me that you don't want me to die?**

_Stop bringing that up!_

Tom was not nice!

He was just... understanding.

 **I said we were gonna come back to it 'later', Tom! This is us coming back to**  
**it a little 'later'!**

Then he would make certain it was even more 'later' than what she had meant.

Never let it be said that Tom wasn't devious.

**Tom?**

**Tom?**

**TOM?!**

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**

_By the mercy of Hecate, stop!_

He had no doubt that she would have let the charmed quill of hers just fill his Diary with pages upon pages of his name on repeat. Bella was that kind of person and she did not like to be ignored.

The entire wall of text hurt his eyes! It all just blended together! A rare moment when he  _didn't_  like her Slytherin deviousness.

**Dude, you can't even successfully ignore me! XD This proves everything!**

_Shut up._

**XD**

He was so close to using slang She could feel it!

* * *

Christmas with the Weasley family was awesome! Prue had obviously visited many years previous but she never got to sleep over during the hols because she wasn't technically a part of the family at the time and it was meant to be a family thing. But now she got to be there the whole time and it was even better than it ever had been before!

Mrs. Weasley was baking all the time, and sometimes she would let Prue, Ginny, and Ron help out. And if they helped, they got sweets early on compared to anyone else.

Ron was surprisingly good with a whisk, Prue learned. It meant he was used to helping his mum out in the kitchen.

There was snow outside and it piled up everywhere. The twins had been charged with keeping the path to the barn cleared, and Percy was given the task of making sure the garden was still free of gnomes. He wasn't happy about it obviously and had already given a long speech to the younger people in the house on why he shouldn't have to do it at all. The reason being he needed to study, which was stupid.

There was an enormous tree in the lounge, decorated much differently than the ones back at Hogwarts. No crystal or glass ornaments to decorate it, or even fake snow. Every colour on the rainbow covered little, spiral bits and bobs dangling from the branches. Whittled animal candle holders were magically held in place, and the whole bottom floor smelled like the pine and cinnamon.

James and Lily weren't interested in Christmas. Lily wasn't religious and hadn't brought it over from her time in the muggle world, and James was devoted to the Greek pantheon. The Weasleys weren't even religious but the traditions of Christmas had passed into Magical Britain decades back and had become a favourite even if no one really celebrated it for its original purpose.

Gift giving was always something people liked. And it was an excuse to party basically. Get pissed dumb and then get free stuff. Most people apparently liked pairing both.

So there were no decorations at Christmas in the Potter household even if they bought her every manner of toy out there, plus other stuff she ended up giving away because she would never use it. And there was no great feast for the family. Both of her parents had no other family, so they found no point in having a large meal made for no reason.

Prue was most excited by the idea of good food. House Elves could cook well enough but Mrs. Weasley's food was way better. And neither Lily or James could cook for shite so if they weren't eating as a restaurant, the food was guaranteed to be basic and dull.

"Ron, please don't mutilate the dough!"

The boy looked up from where he'd been rolling said dough out, only he'd been focusing a bit too intently and had rendered it pretty thin already. He gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, mum."

Mrs. Weasley merely smiled and rolled her eyes, going back to the pot of milk she was attempting to bring to a boil on the stove.

This was the best Christmas ever, in Prue's opinion. And she couldn't wait to see Mrs. Weasley's face when she opened her gift!

The woman loved knitting after all.

* * *

Neville hadn't been this unhappy in nearly two years. Being exposed to most of his relatives in one sitting was enough to turn his hair grey. And there was no way to avoid it because he was the Heir - no matter how unwanted her was - and he ad to respectfully put up with everything they threw his way.

So far he'd been taken to task by Great Aunt Ariel and Great Aunt Ardelia, and Great Uncle Arnold and Great Uncle Aaron. And all for different reasons!

Ariel thought he was being too lax in his studies. She wanted him to expand his knowledge base. Frank had apparently already been studying Arithmancy by the time he'd started his first year at Hogwarts and he advanced to third year classes when he finally started in-school teachings. Ardelia told him that he needed to 'take more care in his appearance' because he 'didn't look as a rightful Heir should and was too fat for her liking'. Arnold was under the impression that Neville had no skills in anything and simply tore him down for being weak. And Aaron merely sneered, his single eye managing to convey his distaste for Neville quite well, as he said, 'boy, you won't amount to anything if you don't start acting like a proper lad'. Whatever that meant.

It would come as no surprise to anyone, that his grandmother did nothing as her siblings-in-law did whatever they wanted without a care for Neville's feelings. She merely sat at the head of the table, her ugliest bird hat set atop her silvery hair. The crow thereon looked like it was holding back a squawk of annoyance every time she gave a sharp nod to herself.

What he wouldn't give to be back at Hogwarts. Or to be over Bella's house again. It'd been fun to spend the last few days of summer with she and Hermione, and he wouldn't mind doing it again. Soon.

"Are you listening to me, boy?" Cousin Arista demanded, her tirade cutting off when she realised that Neville's attention was indeed not on her or anything she was saying. He'd 'tuned her out' as Bella would say. Arista's blue eyes narrowed and her arm lashed out so she could whack him over the head with her oaken walking stick. A dull ache throbbed above his right ear from the strike and he barely withheld a wince.

He detested Arista for that very reason. She was always hitting people, - usually Neville - that she thought deserved it and no one ever stopped her.

Sometimes he wished he had cousins around his own age instead of ones decades ahead of him. If only for there to be other people for his relatives to focus on so they didn't single him out so often. Then again, no one deserved to be treated as Neville was, so maybe it was best he didn't have any family of similar age.

"Augusta dear, this boy's head is in the clouds. You have a lot of work ahead of you!" Arista said with a shake of her balding head.

His grandmother nodded her agreement. "We'll fix him," said the older woman quite sternly, sending Neville an unpleasant look over the rim of her teacup. As if Neville was broken somehow.

Did he mention that he hated family get togethers.

And yet he was perfectly certain that Theodore's Yule was going even worse and he should probably be grateful he wasn't being physically tortured at least.

* * *

**Christmas is upon us and I'm super excited because we go out to an outside rink around**   
**this time! I like shocking the people! Professional and Competitive skaters don't often go**   
**to public rinks like that because they are crowded and you can't really practice. Though I**   
**suppose there is the fun in it and not everything about skating has to be for training. It'd**   
**end up being pretty boring it you dedicated your life to something that wasn't fun.**

They always went out to one of the rinks because usually there was snow and pretty lights to look at. Aaliyah liked taking her to Canary Wharf the most, because the lights were always the nicest.

_I never liked Christmas. I find it to be pointless._

**Do you celebrate Yule then? Sirius and Remus do.**

_Not necessarily, but I would wish others a happy Yule simply to fit in among my peers._

**The winter solstice as a whole then?**

_No. I don't really like winter in general or its holidays. It reminds me of my birthday and I hate_  
_my birthday._

Poor Tom. Bella hoped the reason wasn't what she thought it was, but honestly, it probably was.

**When's your b-day?**

_Last day of December. I hate it. I've never had a good birthday nor a good Christmas/Yule._

**I'm sorry, Tom.**

War. A Great Depression. Poverty. Absolute hatred from everyone he was forced to live with. Yeah, it wasn't shocking that Tom had never had a good birthday or Christmas. And it sucked a lot.

It was too bad that Bella couldn't do anything for him, but did people who hated their birthdays really want to celebrate them at all? Wouldn't it be an unpleasant reminder?

_It wasn't your doing, Bella. At least one of us seems to enjoy ourselves though._

**I'm sad I can't get you anything though. But I don't think a book is capable of accepting**  
**a gift anyway.**

He was trapped in a collection of paper. There wasn't much she could do.

_If I ever get out of this thing, perhaps you can make it up to me._

**I'll hold you to it!**

* * *

Remus winced as the familiar sound of James' voice echoed through the Floo. It sounded rough from lack of use, no doubt thanks to his year in Azkaban. He could only imagine how that time had affected Lily.

Both Remus and Sirius shared a look of utter distaste. Full of tension and displeasure knowing that James obviously couldn't wait until after the hols to start something. It was about to be Yule and the holiday was going to be ruined thanks to the twat's needed to hoard attention.

"You're the other parent," said Remus. "Give it a go." It was only right that Sirius do it after all.

His husband wasn't impressed by being thrown under the proverbial Knight Bus, and sent him a two finger salute in response.

"What do you want, Potter?" Sirius demanded upon answering the call. Both knew very well that the fire would have kept ringing until someone had bothered to answer.

"Why the hell did you change the parameters of Prue's contract with the Cannons?" was the first thing out of James' mouth.

That was what he was most concerned about? He hadn't seen his daughter in a year and his first concern was the fact that he would no longer be getting a cut of her money that she got paid from her job that he practically conditioned her for because he couldn't become a Quidditch player thanks to the war requiring him elsewhere? And what wasn't surprising was the lack of interest in Bella's well being as well.

Remus hadn't been this disgusted in a long time. James really hadn't changed all that much other than getting even worse than he had been wen they were teenagers.

"I did it because she's a kid who already has a job she works hard at and she should be allowed to do what she wants with her money. Besides, it's not like you didn't bloody manipulate her into letting you get all the money from her product endorsements. You've been riding on the coattails of her fame for a decade, using her for gold. It's not like you'll be poor any time soon without the mediocre cheque a professional Quidditch player of only one year gets so I don't know why you're whinging."

"You had no righ-"

"I HAVE EVERY RIGHT!" Sirius exploded, face turning red quickly as those in his family were prone to. "I am her father as much as you are, Potter! I too have a say in what happens to her."

"It's not like you cared for the last decade so why the fuck do you suddenly care now?" was James' rejoinder, and he  _did_  have a point from his point of view. He wasn't aware of all that had happened since his imprisonment and he didn't know that Sirius had pulled his head from his arse and was trying to right his wrongs even if his motivations weren't always moral or altogether correct.

"You mean just like how you didn't care about Bella enough to even visit her but tried to act as if you gave a shite the moment you found out you were wrong about her and she was a part of our world?" Sirius asked in response to James' demand.

That was also a point well made, Remus would admit. Both sides had valid points of their own.

James had nothing to say in response to that either as expected.

"The kid gets to keep her own money and you can't do a damn thing about it, James. Your greedy arse will just have to get a job again. The horror."

There was a moment of silence, before James said, "I can get Lily to overrule your decision. Both of us against only one of you means your attempts to ruin us were in vain, Black."

Sirius gave a sharp bark of laughter, his amusement bleeding through and making him look far more unhinged than he ever had before. "Oh, I'm not the only other parent now. You seem to have missed the notice about Prunella's newest blood mother. And she was in full support of my decision and signed her agreement to the contract."

James' face contorted into shock. "What? Who would  _dare_?" he demanded.

"Molly Weasley."

If James thought he could go after Molly Weasley without repercussion, he had another thing coming. Remus would pay to see the woman go after James like she had with Sirius and he. It would be beautiful.

* * *

"So the idiots have been out for only a couple of days and they are already starting drama."

She didn't want her Christmas ruined by her birth parents but Lord above did they seem to make it their goal to ruin everything in her life. Bella wanted to think of James and Lily as little as possible, but it seemed like James went running to the Daily Prophet the first thing and spun a ridiculous lie about not being allowed to see his own daughter and shite.

Bella placed the paper aside with a hard eye roll for good measure. The article on the front page was not written by Rita SKeeter, but by some bloke named Garrison Bespoke.

"Some people thrive on creating drama, kiddo. The Potters seem to be such people and there will be no escaping it for as long as they live," Aaliyah said with a shrug.

Bella wasn't even involved personally and she was already done with it. She wondered how Prue was handling it all. The girl didn't seem to be able to catch a break. She'd gotten rid of some of the influence her parents had on her and seemed to be on the fast track to a more pleasant childhood, but the nitwits just  _had_  to come along and start shite again.

Once again the brunette was glad to have not been raised in the Potter household. It was beginning to look like Prue was the unfortunate child.

"Mrs. Weasley seems terrifying in her own way so maybe she and Sirius can handle this just fine."

"That's the idea," Aaliyah agreed, setting down a cup of hot cocoa for Bella to have. "Let's go watch some films."

* * *

"By law your birth parents have a right to see you," said Molly, feeling terribly for the child who had to be caught up among all the drama. Prue didn't deserve having to deal with how childish her parents truly were, but it was just how life worked. "However, Sirius and I both negotiated primary custody going to me, so you will live with us most of the time."

Prue nodded. "But I have to go back there now and then during the summer, right?"

"It is unavoidable. Until such a time we can prove them incapable of rearing you correctly, they will continue to have joint custody over you. Simply not primary."

Prue would have to spend at least ten days of her summer holiday, in Wales with the Potter family. If she wasn't a student of Hogwarts it would have been a lot more. Ten months out of the year were spent in Scotland so she wouldn't have to be around Lily or James until the summer.

"We also had to negotiate holidays and birthdays. I get you for every odd birthday, meaning this upcoming birthday in 2013, and then 2015, and 2017, and so forth and so on. They'll get you for 2014, 2016, and onwards. We get you this Christmas, they'll get you next Christmas. As I'm certain you won't be coming home for the Easter hols, those did not need to be negotiated at all."

"Thanks. Basically I just have to sleep over a few times and everything will be fine?"

"Hopefully," Molly agreed. "Sirius did the best he could to draw up a proper custody contract and he is in full support of keeping you away from them if you don't want to be near them. If you change your mind we'll work things out again."

"Believe me, I won't," the girl said assuringly. It wasn't much of a secret in the Weasley household that no one there liked James or Lily much.

Prue then sent Molly a questioning look. "What are we going to do about the Prophet article? You know they won't just let this go."

Of course they wouldn't. Stubbornness was a Gryffindor trait and both Potters had it in spades. They wouldn't let it simply die down due to anger.

Prue hadn't been keeping up with her public appearances. She had barred James from having access to her Quidditch funds. She had been removed from their primary custody. Anger was the least of what the two had to be feeling at present, and of course they'd go whinge to the nearest person who'd listen.

Garrison Bespoke was known for being easily paid off however, so it wasn't as if the man believed what he'd been told to write. He simply accepted money and did his job.

Molly was certain she could contact Sirius and get him to whisper into Rita Skeeter's ear. The two seemed to get on well enough in a professional sense. They knew how to handle one another and how to equally benefit from their acquaintance.

If James wanted to fight using the press to do it, Molly would gladly meet him head on. She had information that both Potters would hate to have made public and Molly wouldn't care how it made them feel in the end.

"We are going to mind our own business," she told the child. "We will wait and watch, and if it comes down to it, we handle the situation."

Gryffindor she may have been, but Molly had almost been sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason.

* * *

**POTTER PROBLEMS?!**

If the lawsuit against James and Lily Potter hadn't been damning enough, now they  
have returned to cause even more drama! But, my dear readers, they are still once  
again in the wrong. Yet instead of simply owning up to their various mistakes, they  
insist upon causing drama and acting childishly.

While the couple spent a year in Azkaban under the dubious care of the Dementors,  
Prunella Potter moved into the custody of her godfather, Lord Black. However, it was  
decided during the summer, that Molly Weasley would blood adopt Prunella, making  
her the girl's fourth blood parent and giving her legal custody over the child as well.  
Prue Potter has been living with the Weasleys ever since the Weasley matriarch was  
granted primary custody.

Upon release from prison, James Potter learned of the new turn of his child's life but  
instead of worrying about her well being, his concern was about her money. Yes, the  
Girl Who Lived's job as a Chaser and Reserve for the Chudley Cannons, was a job that  
Lord Potter spent years training her to take up. He then drew up a contract allowing  
him to take more than half of the profit she made from the job. Lord Black and Molly  
Weasley re-worked the contract so that only Prunella may obtain her payments and  
Lord Potter went mad and made accusations against Lord Black and Molly Weasley in  
the papers immediately.

He hasn't inquired about Prunella's well being according to both Black and Weasley.  
Nor has he or his wife made an attempt to contact her at all despite claiming that  
she was being illegally withheld from them.

And what does Prunella Potter think in all of this? She wasn't available for comment,  
but many Hogwarts students have made note of how much happier she's been this  
recent term. It is obvious to me that she is thriving under the care of the Weasley  
family and seems more contented than she ever did before, even with her parents  
around.

So we must consider, my dear readers, what's going on? Why would Prunella Potter  
prefer the Weasleys to her own parents? What could have Lord and Lady Potter done  
to be ignored by their own child? Could they possibly have even more dark secrets  
they've swept under the carpet? What is Belladonna Potter's opinion of the situation?  
Do you think there will be another court case coming soon, and if so, who will win?  
Should we be concerned over how childish the Lord and Lady of an Ancient family are  
acting? And should we pay closer attention to why James Potter even wanted to take  
his own daughter's hard-earned money when his family had enough of their own already  
gathered over the past eon?

Me, Myself, and I, promise to find out!

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

"Um... Aaliyah!"

"What?" the woman called back as she chopped up some vegetables.

"I think I got my period!"

Well shite.

"Are you serious?!"

"I wish I wasn't!"

Of all the times!

* * *

"Remain silent."

The entire Common Room went quiet upon his order, and Severus surveyed the room with a critical eye. The entirety of Slytherin House was gathered and looking nervous.

"In regards to the most recent happenings in the school, you must all be aware of what will happen from now on."

There was a shift among the students.

"Gilderoy Lockhart has been found guilty of multiple accounts of sexual assault and child endangerment. Other counts are against him, but these specifically affect the student population of Hogwarts. Ten of the students taken to St. Mungo's were physically affected and the rest were interrupted before anything further could happen. Two of the children who managed to escape are Slytherins. You know who they are."

Said children, who were both third years, shrank behind the students nearest them to avoid attention.

"You will not pester them about their experience. If I find out you have, I will make you suffer so terribly you'll wish I had  _only_  taken points from you. The same goes for all other victims of Lockhart's. You will say nothing about him to them. You will not make jokes about their trauma. In this, you will not give the school another reason to think ill of you. Slytherins do not find amusement in sexual assault nor do we support it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the students chorused.

"On another, equally important note, Albus Dumbledore has been forced to step dow-"

Applause broke out all over the room. He allowed them the moment of celebration because it was indeed good news.

"Professor McGonagall has taken up the position of Headmistress, and Professor Dumbledore is once more teaching Transfiguration and is Gryffindor's Head of House."

A swarm of groans filled the room then, and he understood perfectly. It wasn't a much better set up to be honest.

"I was instated as Deputy Headmaster because no one else on staff wanted the additional work." As the deputy head he would have more control than Albus at least and could finally have a part in destroying the man's ridiculous need to gift Gryffindors points for literally nothing.

"Remus Lupin has once again volunteered for the position of Defence. The Board of Governors agreed because the output of Os increased by 34% last year and they have faith that you'll do well under his instruction. You will show him respect as a teacher. I don't care about your feelings about his creature status. You will keep your mouths shut outside of this Common Room."

This announcement was met with more approval. It was no lie that Lupin was good at teaching. And now that he was taking over DADA, those he'd been tutoring could go back to their usual schedules.

"I expect nothing less than Acceptable work from all of you for this next term. As always my office is open if you needs assistance. Be mindful or yourselves and each other, and do Slytherin proud. You may go about your business."

He needed a glass of brandy so terribly!

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And life goes on, drama and stress in all their glory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Recently found out that there are portraits of the Founders in the school.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Theodore knocked thrice on the door to his Head of House's office. He'd tried to be patient but he simply didn't have it in him to wait any longer. He was experiencing phantom pains all over his body and he couldn't stop twitching!

"Enter."

His hands were shaking as he struggled to grip the doorknob, and he couldn't determine how much pressure he was using, but it was obvious it wasn't enough. It took several seconds for him to finally get the door open and the moment Professor Snape looked up to see who it was and why they were taking so long, he was out of his seat in a flash, his robes whipping around him in his haste.

"In!" the man ordered roughly, moving to shut and lock the door while Theo headed toward the seat in front of the man's big desk.

"What did he do?" was all Snape asked as he knelt before the pre-teen, wand at the ready.

"Cruciatus practice."

Everyone in Slytherin knew of Snape's past alliances. No one knew if his allegiance still remained with such alliances, but they knew enough about his past. And while he was a surly man with barely an ounce of patience to his name no matter how well he hid that fact, he did not wish harm upon children and he was very vocal about helping them if they needed him.

Snape had been a Potioneer in the ranks of the Death Eaters. Nothing more. Rumour had it that he wasn't sadistic enough for certain tasks. Such as murdering and torturing women and children. So he'd stayed behind to provide the Dark Lord's forces with the potions they required. And as a Potions Master, he also had to have medical training.

The professor placed a deliberate, freezing hand on the nape of Theo's neck and tilted his head back slightly while holding up a potion that seemed to manifest out of thin air. It was best he did that because Theo probably would have spilled the potion all over himself otherwise.

It was vile and yet amazing all at once. Like cooling, aged moss rubbed against the tongue. The effects of the curse seemed to vanish and he felt at ease for the first time since he'd gotten the letter that doomed his last two weeks of 2012.

He hadn't wanted to go home for Yule, but his grandfather had demanded that he come back for training. His friends had been up in arms over it, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. Theodore had only one guardian and he had to do everything he was told or else it would simply get worse than it already was. And he didn't want to find out exactly how 'worse' it could be.

Snape understood that. He didn't ask annoying questions with obvious answers. He didn't make insults about the situation. He simply glared and forced the remedy down Theo's throat.

"You'll need to take several vials of the potion for the next few days. Your pupils are still dilated and it's a blaring sign to anyone capable of paying attention, that you were using the Darkest of Artes. I don't understand what Xenophon was thinking but this would not only imprison him doing it to you, but also you, even though you are a minor who was being forced to practice."

Wonderful.

"You must not make eye contact with anyone outside of Slytherin. We can both be certain they simply wouldn't understand. I will have to charm your face so people won't feel the need to look at you too closely."

Theo suspected as much.

"I'm certain your friends are already aware of the situation and are supportive of you?"

He nodded, not feeling like voicing anything anymore.

"Then the only thing I can tell you is to get as much sunlight as possible, even if it is only generated magically. You need to be bled of the PDAA as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir."

"If the symptoms get any worse you come directly to me, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you tell your friends that if something happens, they are to bring you to me alone."

"Yes, sir."

Theo really hated his grandfather. He could only hope that maybe one day the man would just drop dead. Or maybe someone would poison him. It would be a fine day to see his obituary in the paper. Anyone would be a better guardian. Hell, Blaise's mum would gladly take him it if it came down to that.

"You may return to the Common Room. I ask that you and your friends find somewhere other than the Library to work on your assignments for the foreseeable future. The less you are out of the better it will be to hide. Your wand has been cleared of all evidence, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

Maybe the Weasley twins would know of a good place to hide away for a while. They knew everything about the school, or so they boasted.

"We'll do our best, sir."

The man gave a curt nod and waved his wand over Theo's face in a complicated pattern. He could feel the warmth of the magic rushing over him and sighed. Snape had a Dark Core too but his magic didn't make Theo feel ill. Not like Xenophon's did.

That was the big difference and it proved that Dark Magic didn't mean evil.

Xenophon's magic terrified Theo and made him freeze. Snape's made him feel warm and safe. He wished it could be like that all the time.

* * *

"So, Bella-" Fred began.

"-Why the jewelry?" George finished.

Both had appeared out of nowhere, like usual, in order to wrap their arms around Bella's shoulders. She wasn't as shocked as she had been the first few times from it, and was actually glad they'd come to see her about the situation.

She'd sent them mood rings for Christmas because she'd gotten a clever idea that could make them some good money in the future if they expanded their business ideas.

"Those are mood rings," she told them, gesturing to their hands which were adorned with said rings. Both were the same of course. A simple-shaped band with a strip of colour inside that changed colours when it came into contact with heat. "Muggles use them to determine their moods. Now they don't  _actually_  tell you what you're feeling, they just change colour when they get warm, but I thought the idea was a good one. Imagine you make jewelry that can magically determine someone's emotional state. I can guarantee that a lot of people would like those."

The dual looks of astonishment they sent her way made her snicker.

"It seems like you always have good ideas on how to make money," said George.

"Keep this up and you'll have to become our third partner," Fred added teasingly.

* * *

"What if I mix up the information on the exam?" Hermione murmured to herself as she flicked through the notebooks she'd written specifically for their Charms class. So far there were four just from the first five months of school alone, and no one could understand how she had observed so much in such a short period of time or why she decided to write it all out by hand.

"You'll be fine," Blaise tried to assure her. "You're the best out of all of us, so of course you're going to do well in your exams."

Everyone else nodded.

Luna, who had until then been reading  **The Quibbler**  upside down, looked up with a serene smile and said, "You will receive a perfect score, plus an additional two points."

This was not the first time that Luna had said something somewhat cryptic that had eventually come true. Ever since joining their little group before Christmas, she'd been a voice of reason of sorts. Which was ironic since most of the school thought her to be insane and not worth their time.

Blaise had heard of Seers before, though little was known about them because they were rare. Or perhaps they were born more frequently than people believed and simply chose to remain hidden so that people couldn't attempt to abuse their powers.

Luna Lovegood was always talking about things that none of them could see, and saying things that she shouldn't know, and predicting the future to an extent. He wouldn't be shocked if she  _was_  a legitimate Seer and was simply not taken seriously by most of the population of Magical Britain. It wouldn't be the first time.

Cassandra Trelawney had been a Seer whom no one believed while she was alive. When she died, all of her predictions came true. Every last one of them. Only then did people revere her, but by then it was too late to show her the proper respect she deserved as a person.

As if hearing what was going through his mind, Luna turned her head until her misty blue eyes were looking into his very soul. "You're very observant, Blaise," she said almost ominously. Nothing else was murmured and he felt a slight chill run down his spine at the implications.

If she was indeed a Seer, she would be in danger. It wouldn't do well for people outside their circle to realise just how special she truly was, because there were people out there, on both the Dark and Light sides, who would gladly make use of a Seer. The Dark Lord and his followers would surely enslave her for the rest of her days, and the Ministry and its sycophants would pass a law to legally enslave her to their whims. Neither option was a pleasant one.

The only reason Hogwarts' Divination professor wasn't hounded was because nothing she said had ever come true. She was considered a joke and a fake. Not even the great Prophecy about Prunella Potter and the Dark Lord had fully come true. So one partially successful prophecy, out of thousands she spouted every year, wasn't enough for people to believe in her.

And while she was at Hogwarts, she was technically at Dumbledore's disposal. Sure, he'd been removed as Headmaster, but McGonagall was under his thumb and she would certainly defer to his judgment at any time. So Trelawney was still under his control to an extent and there was no doubt that Dumbledore paid close attention to everything she said just in case it ended up being of great import later.

Who knew what he'd do if he found out Luna was a Seer. One who could possibly See everything from the future, to the past, to other planes of existence.

It was best for the information to stay with their group for now. And it seemed like Blaise was the only one to really notice it anyway, so he'd keep quiet.

Blaise's eyes did not miss how Luna's head turned away, but her cheek lifted in what he knew to be a pleased smile.

The group went back to placating Hermione's worries about the exam, and Blaise's thoughts focused on other things. Like how Bella and Theodore were leaning on each other to share the same comic, instead of studying like Hermione wanted them all to.

Neville was smiling impishly at Hermione as she rambled, and Luna hummed a tune he didn't recognise to herself.

These were the people he'd chosen to spend his Hogwarts years with. His mum would be proud. She'd worked hard to give him a chance to make his own choices without fear of conforming to Pureblood traditions, and here he was, exercising those choices. And he had full faith that someday soon, things would change enough that he would be able to extend those choices to other non-traditional actions without fear of negative reactions or threats.

He caught Luna's eye for what seemed like the millionth time that evening, and saw her wink and nod. That was confirmation enough.

* * *

The new Quidditch season had begun and Prue was stood in the guest locker room of the Wanderer's Pitch. The crowd was going wild outside and any second, they'd be called out to the pitch.

The last two weeks had been... hell. James had decided to make a nuisance of himself, but the part that worried Prue the most was that Lily hadn't done anything. At all. She was a control freak and felt the need to order everyone around, but she hadn't attempted to contact Prue, nor did she go to the media with a fabricated story about being withheld from her 'darling daughter'.

Prue didn't for a second think the woman wasn't up to something. It wasn't Lily's way to mind her own business.

So far, the manager for the Cannons had to inform Prue that James had tried to get him to reconsider the contract and even made vague threats against him. Which she had to tell Sirius about because it was important for him to be involved in that.

James had also shown up at the game and had tried to insert himself into the discussion Captain Holt had planned to have before the playing officially began. And Prue was left red-faced and embarrassed by how improper the twat was acting. He couldn't even bother to attempt subtlety. It was annoying.

Thankfully, Mr, and Mrs. Weasley were in attendance, as she'd gotten them tickets in the top box because she could. And since James would also be there, she would prefer to have them as a buffer. Mrs. Weasley would tear into James if he tried something.

"Okay, team. We're going to go out there and demonstrate our improved skills. Each Chaser is expected to score at least five times no matter what. If you manage that, I'll buy you all dinner at the place of your choice" said Holt stoically.

The team members shared a look and then a nod.

"Potter, I want you standing as often as possible on that broom. Unnerve the competition as much as possible, understand? We want the audience talking about our team for the rest of the year!"

"Yes, sir!"

Broom surfing was always fun when you weren't being pelted with Bludgers.

* * *

Ravenclaw House was not taking their withdrawal from the House Competition very well, from what Bella could see. Flitwick had made good on his word and had taken them all to task severely for what they'd said. Luna had told them about it in great detail. Once they'd been punished, she got herself out of the way because there was no way certain Ravenclaws would leave her alone despite the threat hanging over their heads by their Head of House.

It was well into January, and they were no sooner closer to understanding that this was their own fault.

It was disappointing. It was like admitting to your own wrongdoings was impossible in the wizarding world. Just like making use of logic.

Bella hadn't been this disappointed in a long time.

The great thing was that because Hermione was a Slytherin now, Slytherins had to stand up for her outside the Common Room. It was an expectation of Batman's. Slytherins must present a united front to the rest of the school at all times since they only had each other on their side. Issues with each other were taken up in the Common Room only.

So when a Ravenclaw Fifth Year tried cursing Hermione while her back was turned in the Third Floor Corridor, Marcus Flint, who had been coming down the opposite direction, reacted instantly. He sent the curse back at the student and left them sprawled in the middle of the corridor with their teeth growing longer than their body was tall. The older Slytherin said nothing to the group of gaping Second Years as he passed by, but he did aim a kick at the downed Ravenclaw's shin with a promise to go to B-Man with information on the situation.

Flint was probably one of the more staunchly Pureblood Slytherins in the House, complete with inbreeding and the hatred for Squibs. And yet he had protected Hermione anyway. Because that was what Slytherins did.

This wasn't to say he'd do the same once they were back in the Common Room of course. There it was a fend for yourself kind of mentality and rarely did people, even friends, stick up for one another.

It was a pride thing.

If you needed friends to save you, you were weak. But also, many wouldn't put themselves on the line for another person without obvious gain being in their further acquaintance.

Slytherins defended Hermione, Ravenclaws got detentions from Batman like sweets passed out on Hallowe'en, and Bella sat back and enjoyed the chaos and suffering.

* * *

"What's  _that_?" Theo asked that morning at breakfast.

The ' _that_ ' he was referring to was Bella's newest piece of jewelry. And since she didn't wear jewelry ever, of course it would be a cause for questioning when she finally started.

Said piece of jewelry was a gaudy locket but it was also kinda cool so she decided to wear it at least for the first few days and if it didn't stick, she'd simply leave it in her dorm.

"Sirius gave it to me. Over the Christmas hols he and Remus were doing some cleaning of the Black residence and found a lot of old stuff Sirius didn't feel like keeping. They donated some of it once they made sure it was all cleansed of curses and the like, but other stuff was given to me. This was one such item."

It was very old yet pretty well taken care of. Good condition. Sirius hadn't known where it came from as he'd never seen it in the house compared to all the other things, but he thought Bella would like it. "It's even got an S of Emeralds on it, it's like Slytherin given necklace fore," the man had told her that morning when she visited his office. Basically saying it looked very Slytherin and she was a Slytherin so he thought she'd like it.

It was sweet even though it seemed jammed and wouldn't even open with an  _Alohamora_.

Luna, who had decided to join them at the Slytheirn Table since no rules said they couldn't sit at other House Tables - and she dragged Neville along for good measure - hummed. "I don't know why Salazar Slytherin's locket was in the Black Ancestral Home but it's nice that you have it now. I know you'll take care of it. It's very important to the future."

Their entire section of the table went dead silent upon hearing that revelation.

Blaise turned to the blonde. "Luna, how do you know it's the legendary locket of Slytherin?"

"Because he's wearing it in his portrait," the girl stated bluntly as she moved to butter her toast.

There was another moment of shocked silence, before Hermione grabbed the younger girl's arm and asked excitedly, "You found Salazar Slytheirn's portrait?!"

"I found  _all_  of the Founders' portraits while I was wandering."

It had been centuries since anyone had seen one of the Founders' portraits. And even longer since Salazar's had been seen. Some said his was burned after leaving Hogwarts because people didn't like his beliefs.

"Please show us!" Hermione begged. "I have so many questions and portraits are impressions of the original person's will and magic. They hold all memories up until creation and would have information we currently don't have!"

Luna looked around for a moment, before sighing. "I suppose we could go this afternoon before dinner."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Hermione was practically bowing out of excitement.

Was Bella going to meet Salazar Slytherin? Tom and Voldemort's ancestor?

* * *

Luna had lead them up to the seventh floor, very near the Gryffindor Common Room or so she'd said. It surprised no one that Luna would know where everything in the castle was. She probably knew all the secret entrances and exits too.

"Behind this wall," she said of the blank wall in front of the group.

Before they could pose their many questions, the blonde began to walk back and forth several times, until, as if by magic, a large iron door seemed to curl into existence right before their eyes, taking up most of said wall and towering over all of them.

Luna was already heading inside. "This is the Room of Requirement. My mum used to tell me all about it when I was little and I had made plans to explore it in depth as much as possible. Things that go missing in Hogwarts, tend to end up here. If you need a specific type of room, you pace in front of the wall while thinking of it as clearly as you can, and it'll manifest for you. This time I simply wanted the place where things are hidden."

When Bella stepped foot inside, it was like looking into a hoarder's house. Furniture from many different eras was stacks into massive piles all the way up to the ceiling that looked far too high considering there were only seven floor in Hogwarts and the only higher places were Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower which weren't near enough to where they were stood.

Piles of chairs, tables, old lamps, and trinkets. A collection of Quidditch brooms leaned up against the wall to their left. Rolled up carpets stacked to the right of those. Lanterns that were lit, hanging from the ceiling and illuminating the entire room. And portraits taking up every bare space of wall they could see.

It was truly amazing, yet all Bella could think of was how the furniture was going to waste and it could be donated to charity shops to help those who needed it. There was one in Diagon Alley even.

"Follow me," ordered Luna as she proceeded to head into the mess, following the very thin pathways made between the towers of junk that wasn't being put to use. "They've been in here for the last fifty years after being lost for centuries."

She lead them further into the room, until they came upon a massive , wall-sized fireplace that had a mantel that was covered in trinkets of all kinds. And above the flameless hearth, were four portraits that eyed them with unconcealed interest.

And one portrait in particular, was wearing a very familiar locket.

Would wonders never cease?

"These are my friends," said Luna. In order of how they were stood, she said, "Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Belladonna Potter-Michaels."

One of the two women, and Bella was going to assume it was Rowena seeing as she was wearing blue, looked perturbed. "You were re-sorted, Luna?"

"To Hufflepuff no less!" said the man who was obviously Godric judging by the all red and gold he was wearing and ridiculously ostentatious sword at his hip. He just screamed Gryffindor.

"Hufflepuffs and Slytherins make great friendships," Helga, who was clothed in warm yellow, said with a smile. She turned to look at Salazar with an expectant grin. "It's that right, Sal?"

The man rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Sal and I have always been close," Helga told the children with a conspiratorial wink. "We're Servants of the Earth together."

The two Hogwarts Houses who almost never interacted because of their very opposing opinions of each other, had Founders who were actually very close. The bloody hell was going on?

"Hermione and I got re-sorted because Ravenclaw isn't what it used to be. I'm sorry, but staying somewhere that makes me unhappy isn't productive nor will it let me reach my goals," Luna explained to her former House's Founder. "And that kind of atmosphere isn't healthy for the mind either."

"Yeah, Ravenclaws are fucking arseholes," Bella agreed much to the embarrassment of her friends. "They didn't deserve either of you." Bella was being crass in front of the one thousand year old portraits of the Founders. The horror. The disrespect. The fucks she did not give.

Rowena Ravenclaw was gaping at Bella's use of language as well as the insult to her House and possible values. Salazar was staring her down with interest, no doubt noticing the green of her robes and the locket around her throat, and probably wondering why a Slytherin was being so... not subtle.

Bella was a Slytherin because of her ambition and cunning. Having both qualities didn't always mean someone had to end up like B-Man. Stiff and unhappy weren't the requirements for Slytherin House.

"So I wanna ask the question I think the rest of us students are wondering," Bella began, noting how Hermione stiffened in realisation. "Salazar Slytherin, did you campaign for the murder of all non-magical people and children born to them?"

The absolute horror on the Founders' faces was enough to tell her that he in fact, did not.

"Salazar would  _never_!" Helga blustered, looking more offended than the man himself did. "Though he really didn't favour the Mundanes because of how they treated those of us with magic, he had more important things to see to than murdering people! We had a school of children to control. Only four of us against hundreds of adolescents! There would be no time for that!"

Godric and Rowena nodded.

"But you four were crafted before the real Salazar left the school and the supposed row he had with Godric. So could he have changed enough to want that by the time it happened?" Bella asked.

"The real me left half a year after  _this_  portrait was created and the portrait wasn't found for some time," Salazar stated. "Much can happen in that span of time but nothing I can think of would make that a possibility. And we were all exposed to the rest of the real Founders until they died. The other portraits had not been created before I left though."

Interesting. "So the whole school has been operating under false information and Slytherins have been treated like utter rubbish for centuries, for literally no reason. Lovely."

Just fucking wonderful.

"Why are Slytherins being treated terribly?" Helga asked. Bella could already tell she was a bleeding heart and the portrait would no doubt burst into tears once she learned of the history of Hogwarts.

"Well..."

And so the children explained to the best of their knowledge.

* * *

"So we wanted to put them up in the Entrance Hall because that way everyone would get to see them."

Severus Snape was staring at the group of children stood in his office. And four of them were holding the long lost Founders' portraits. Of course it was Potter's group of friends that was involved.

"Why not each to their own House?" he asked, curious to hear their reasoning.

Granger was the one to speak up. "It promotes exclusion. All four founded the school so all of their wisdom should be equally available to the students. It isn't fair to take the option of learning from a specific Founder, away from 3/4 of the student population."

She had a point.

"I will talk to the Headmistress about it. She is rather level-headed for a Gryffindor, I'm certain she'll see no issue with it. It isn't as if she can get rid of them."

How much would this change things? Salazar Slytherin's portrait hanging up in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts for the first time in centuries. Merlin have mercy on them all and the drama that decision would cause.

* * *

"Mione, what're you doing?"

Hermione beamed at the chance to talk about her findings! She always did like explaining things to people and now she had friends who actually  _listened_  when she talked and asked questions about what she was up to! It was everything she'd wanted in her imaginary friendships as a child.

"Remember how I put that Slytherin in his place when he tried to attack us?"

Her fellow Slytherins nodded whilst the Hufflepuffs of the group listened with interest. They hadn't been there but Bella had regaled them both with the details because of course she would.

"So I said that his blood was infected and that it was because of the inbreeding. Chances are he didn't truly understand that, but it's been on my mind ever since. Muggles have learned that children spawned from incestuous unions aren't healthy. Specifically, the genes of their parents are too similar and may cause negative recessive traits to spawn once again. And the worse it gets, the worse the traits build up."

Bella nodded, obviously understanding as she had come from the muggle side and knew enough about the topic to have a clear understanding of it. The rest looked completely lost, but seeing as Magicals didn't teach science, she wasn't surprised.

"What are genes?" asked Theo, looking genuinely interested.

"Something passed down from your parents inside the body," answered Bella.

Hermione nodded. "More clearly, the Google definition is, **'a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring'**. Like how everyone in the Black family has storm grey eyes, or how everyone born to the Malfoys have such pale hair. Genetics are the reason for that. Recessive traits pass on through the genes, and if the genes of the parents are too similar, it'll cause problems for the child."

Blaise looked unnerved, but he stiffened his jaw anyway and asked, "What problems?"

She wasn't going to sugarcoat it. "Deformities of all kinds."

The ominous answer had everyone but Bella gaping.

She nodded at their shocked silence. "Yes. Too much inbreeding leads to Inbreeding Depression, which is when the biological fitness of the inbred individuals fail. This means the chances to breed are… impossible the further the inbreeding goes. Infertility is what often occurs. So gene variation is important. Introducing new genes into the pool gives you a better chance of healthy breeding."

There was silence for a moment, before Blaise said, "My mum's parents were cousins as their parents before them were as well. But mum got pregnant with a Pureblood from Italy in order to have me. Is that what saved me from deformity?"

The revelation wasn't necessarily shocking itself, but the fact that Blaise  _shared_  it was. However, she had to nod. "Yes. Something I've noticed is that British Magicals don't expand their reach past their borders. The magical community here stays here and doesn't branch out ever. In fact, the only non-British born students that I currently know of, are the Patils, and yet they're from a section of India that was heavily occupied by the British colonists."

"Because they never open themselves up to change even if it was Purebloods from the continent, everyone here is distantly related," said Bella, understanding sparking in her eyes. "I'm related to the Blacks, Malfoys, Weasleys, Longbottoms, Bones', Greengrass', and probably many others."

"Exactly!" Hermione nodded. "So I was thinking about this and the obvious infection in those who have been inbred too much. Taking the Blacks for example, and I'm not trying to be rude, Bella, I swear."

The girl waved her off, obviously wanting her to continue.

"They're mad," was Hermione succinct statement.

No one disagreed. It was common knowledge or at least a common belief they treated as fact.

"I looked up some things, and the sanity of every Black in the last century has been called into question numerous times. Even Sirius Black. The family was one of the ones who especially believed in keeping it in the family. The main branch, the one Sirius Black is from, only ever married each other. The side branches intermarried with the Malfoys, Rosiers, and Lestranges. While that is good it's not good enough, because they only intermarried with those three families save for a few outliers who were banished and married Weasleys or Prewetts or Longbottoms."

Neville looked pale just at the mention of his possible relations.

"The Blacks used to have a plethora of Metamorphmagi in their line. Hogwarts had dozens of them as students over a century ago according to Madam Pomfrey. They've practically died out by now. But recently, a Metamorphmagus of Black descent was born. From what I've gathered, her name is Nymphadora Tonks and she's in the Auror Program after graduating last year. Her Pureblood mother married a Muggleborn and suddenly this long-dead ability in the Black family rears its head once again after so much inbreeding?"

Hermione could tell that both Blaise and Theo were completely baffled, but her facts were just that. Facts. And what they alluded to made sense!

"So when I got the special class for magical menstruation, Madam Pomfrey said that magicals struggle with having children even though we technically have two times the chances muggles do. But for some reason the eggs are mostly dead and that families as big as the Weasleys are rare nowadays. Why? How? And can any of you guess?"

It was Luna who answered next. "Inbreeding. Too much is making it so they can't pass on their genetic material. That's why the eggs are always dead. I suppose this is different compared to how it works for muggles?"

Hermione could only nod. It was very similar but also considerably different.

"So the wizarding population of Magical Britain is dying out because of inbreeding," Bella said, summarising the entire conversation. "This basically goes back to Pureblood politics and traditions then. But even for those who accept the muggleborns and inter-mix with them, they're only British muggleborns. So their new blood and genes won't do much but prolong the inevitable if something isn't done soon."

And that was the crux of the issue. This was something very serious, and  _everyone_  needed to be made aware of it.

"The population of Magical Britain was around one hundred thousand back in 1850. It is now under fifty-thousand," Hermione revealed, slapping her file holding her findings, down for her friends to see for themselves if they were curious. "Where Hogwarts used to have a thousand students at any given time just a century ago, it's now teaching about seven hundred at the most and the dorms are getting smaller and smaller."

The numbers didn't lie, even though she wished they did. Just so things wouldn't look so bad.

"Something has to be done."

It was Theo who surprised her then as he aimed a small smile her way and said, "Then I suppose it's a good thing you're going to be our Minister, huh?"

The emotions that twisted up Hermione gut had her tearing up.

Their faith was appreciated.

* * *

 _You should start looking into Ancient Runes now, while you have the time. The moment_  
_you enter your third year, you'll have even less time than you do now, and if you begin_  
_practicing your writing now, you'll bypass the introductory section of the class which is_  
_several months long._

**?Huh?**

Bella hadn't even gotten to say anything yet. Tom's weird ability to sense whenever she came near to him could be really annoying sometimes. Yet he was giving her good advice so she could just suck it up.

 _Runes are a language. Cultures have different Runes of their own. What Hogwarts teaches_  
_is the Elder Futhark Runes. It will be treated like learning English was. Assignments based_  
_on memorising them will become the norm during the first term in the class. If you already_  
_know how to write them all before you even start the class, and have them in memory in_  
_order as presented, you'll be better off._

Meh!

**Oh. That doesn't sound fun.**

_I personally found it very relaxing. The repetitive motions are calming._

Tom was weird though.

 **Well yeah, but you're like super duper smart so of course you would end up liking**  
**schoolwork. I however am a perfectly sane person and I don't like doing it. But at**  
**least I will be finished with my muggle work by then so my schedule won't be too**  
**crowded.**

Then it'll just be Hogwarts and training. Hogwarts and training. Over and over until she got to the big competitions! She was so excited! She even had a competition comping up!

 _I was under the impression that your friend Hermione enjoys school very much and loves to_  
_learn ahead._

**Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I think she's sane for it.**

Hermione was like a breed of person all her own. There was no way

 _Is your dislike of learning because of the fact that you legally have to or else, or is it the_  
_the soul piece and what it does to you every time you try to get through a new book that_  
_puts you off?_

Tom was very good at reading people. In another life, and maybe with less manipulative tendencies to his character, he'd be a good psychiatrist. No wonder he made a good Slytherin. And he was Slytherin's last real descendant too!

 **...the latter. Still haven't finished the Thesaurus and it's frustrating as hell! It's**  
**not fun to learn if I'm being punished with the mother of all headaches while I**  
**am doing it. Things used to be much more simple and now I can't even read a**  
**book normally.**

 _Understandable. I cannot hold that against you seeing as it's technically my soul doing it_  
_to you._

**Thanks, Tom. Good of you to say.**

Admitting his own mistakes even if he didn't personally commit them, was a good step!

Bella was proud!

**BTW, Tom! I had a question!**

_Yes?_

**So like, you would need either a person with magic or another Horcrux in order**  
**to get a body, right? Does the kind of person matter or does it have to just be a**  
**magical person?**

 _A magical human of any sort. I would prefer an adult though. Murdering children isn't an_  
_appealing thought and adults have already gotten their chance to live. And I'd personally_  
_target someone that I find offensive. You'd feel less guilt in hurting people you don't like._  
_A common thing in our species. So if you give me to someone so I may get a body of my_  
_own, I'd advise you to give me to someone you absolutely cannot stand and wouldn't be_  
_sorry to see them go._

Damn. Tom was coming out with the straight facts! Though he didn't believe in sugar-coating things just because Bella was underage and a girl, which was nice of him. She just kinds wished reality wasn't so bloody effed up.

 **Right, right. That's basically what I've been thinking. Because I have considered**  
**giving your book to someone, but I just don't know how to get it to him and make**  
**him actually touch and/or open it.**

_Who, may I ask?_

**Xenophon Nott.**

He'd ticked Bella off for the last time. After Christmas, Theodore had been very ill. Super ill. To the point of needing magical sunlight in order to counteract the affects of his grandfather's training! And he'd been shaking and incapable of even gripping a quill due to possible nerve damage. Xenophon Nott's plan to ready his grandson for Voldemort's service was also going kill him before Voldemort ever returned.

Enough was enough.

_He's one of my Knights._

**?**

_Knights of Walpurgis. A group of founded in school of my acquaintances._

**Yeeeaaah. We all basically know that he is one of Voldemort's original Death**  
**Eaters. There is no legit proof that he is a DE, but these things seem to run in**  
**the family. His son was a DE and is in Azkaban now, and he has been torturing**  
**Theodore to prepare him to serve Voldemort when he returns.**

It was disgusting!

 _He honestly believes that Voldemort would support him torturing his child in preparation_  
_for servitude? Even though he's risking his health and could possibly make him incapable_  
_of doing anything should it continue?_

**Yeah. But Voldy's a bit whacko now so are you really shocked?**

_I suppose not. But I am severely disappointed._

**Yeah, me too.**

_Xenophon would recognise my Diary however. I did carry it around often in my fifth year,_  
_and my name is on the back. He would probably revere it as he would be one of the only_  
_people left who knows exactly who I was._

**So giving you to him would work?**

_Yes. If you truly feel that it is necessary of course._

**We'll need to talk more on what your plans are once you leave the book though.**

_Of course, Bella._

She wasn't stupid enough to just free Tom and let that be that!

Some assurances had to be made first.

 **And I also wanted to tell you that we found the Founders' portraits and we got**  
**them all hanging up on the Entrance Hall now!**

_WHAT?! Salazar wasn't burned?_

**Nope! He still exists and he's been tearing some new you-know-whats into some**  
**people! It's been great!**

 **Also, he told me I better protect his locket and do him justice and I told him I'm**  
**a Parselmouth and that I'm a pretty damn good Slytherin. He seemed pleased.**

_You have Slytherin's Locket?_

**Yeah?**

_I had hoped to use that as a Horcrux if I ever found it._

**Oh.**

Bella had left the locket at school, but now she was going to give it a closer look. How would she know if it was a Horcrux or not?

She could hiss at it and see what happens.

* * *

"I want to work on the Quad Toe Loop only today," Bella announced the moment they got to the rink. She'd been thinking about it a lot in the past month and had decided that she had enough time before Juniors to begin practicing her Quad attempts more regularly. If she got the first one down soon, she'd be able to move onto other Quads.

Bella wanted to join Miki Ando as the second Ladies skater to ratify a Quad jump. Miki had ratified the Quad Salchow back in 2002. Bella was going for ratifying the other Quads.

It was literally an entire year away for Juniors. She had dance classes to constantly work on form and expression. Her choreo was getting better and better every time Aaliyah gave her one of her little music challenges. For the most part, her Triple jumps were decent and had a success rate of 70% thus far, which was good. Seventy percent of her jumps were perfect and she was pleased by that.

And since the Toe Loop was the easiest jump, in Bella's opinion, the Quad would be the easiest as well no doubt. And she wanted to get that out of the way before she could move up the ladder of difficulty. She just needed to work on the landing!

Aaliyah sighed as she placed her bag down on the nearest bench. "I'm all for practicing everything, but I don't want you to fall into the hole that other skaters are beginning to fall into as of late. You don't  _need_  Quads to win gold."

Not exactly true. In recent years, figure skaters were attempting more and more difficult jumps, and the scoring had become a little… unfair in a sense.

A good example would be a Senior men's skater who performed an entire routine with only Triples and a single Quad, managing to beat a Senior skater who used Quads for half of his required jumps, even though he may have stepped out on a couple of them. Quads had more base points naturally so the point deduction from the base points, for stepping out, wasn't that big. So how could the first men's skater win when awarded less base points and less than two additional points on each jump?

It was a controversy that sparked a lot of heated discussions in the skating circles. Many believing it to be unfair and others defending such scoring. And it influenced said scoring.

Other examples of odd scoring had skaters who attempted Quads that all came out imperfect, receiving better scores than someone who skated a clean routine with no Quads and better PCS.

Bella was kind of on the fence about it all because she  _knew_  she could do Quads if she worked hard enough. And she wanted to get the points for the Quads and set records that would have her name going down in history. So the new shift in attention to the technical elements worked in her favour somewhat. At the same time she didn't think it fair that someone who only performed Triple jumps, was still able to win over someone who had used a variety of Quads. It just didn't seem right in the end.

Of course not everyone held the same beliefs, but Bella's opinion on Quads was shaped by the current scoring system and the attention being placed on people who dared Quads, so of course that would be how she thought. Aaliyah grew up when the requirements were a bit different.

"I  _want_  to do Quads though," Bella told her guardian. "I have worked up my stamina for this and I have an edge over my fellow competitors that others simply don't have. I've got the time to work on these things without fearing that they will completely destroy my body. And I will age much more slowly than most other skaters."

Her Healing ability from being a magical twin was very useful she'd come to realise. While other skaters would be complaining of bleeding feet that were rubbed raw, and pained knees and hips, Bella could power on through because everything healed up automatically. Sure there was pain, but if she ignored it for long enough it would fade into the background.

Aaliyah didn't seem so convinced. "I just find PCS to be more important. Call it my history in Synchro shining through."

Well duh. Aaliyah had learned to make patterns and do group lifts and put forth a specific mindset at all times. Bella's side of the sport required a bit more in terms of difficulty.

Many people assumed that all skating sports were the same, but singles skating was different from speed skating, which was different from pairs and synchro and ice dancing.

"You've been doing well lately, so I suppose it won't hurt to get in a few days of jumps practice. But I want you to do some suicides on the ice to warm up, first."

Ugh! Bella hated suicides the most! They were Aaliyah's clever way of telling her she didn't like what Bella was focusing on but couldn't see a legit reason to put a stop to it and cause drama.

"Ah! The life of raising a teenager!"

Both looked around to find Deborah approaching, wearing her usual 'uniform' which was basically a very dark, fuzzy vest over a long-sleeved white jumper and a big, blue lanyard labeling her as the staff of the rink, in place. Her hair was pulled into a bun like always and her cheeks and nose were flushed red from the chill of the rink.

"I'm twelve," said Bella.

Deborah shrugged. "I'm counting those nine months in the womb."

Ew! "Don't remind me of that! I wanna forget that ever had to happen!" Especially since she didn't like the owner of the womb she'd come out of!

Both Aaliyah and Deborah snorted at her and focused their attention on each other. Like always.

It was in that moment of watching them silently look into each other's eyes, that Bella realised something very important. Deborah didn't know that magic existed. And because same-sex marriage wasn't legal in their country, Aaliyah wouldn't be allowed to tell her according to the ancient laws of Britain's Ministry of Magic.

And that sucked.

* * *

Prue stared down at the letter as if would possibly catch fire and burn her alive. Of all the things to ruin her day, this had to be it.

**Dear Prue,**

**It's been a while since we've gotten to speak. It's a shame Azkaban doesn't**  
**allow visitation to the common public. I have no doubt that you would have**  
**visited if you could. And I'm certain Sirius didn't even bother to tell you that**  
**you could write to us.**

 **I've been looking into your situation and will be bringing my findings to the**  
**Child Welfare Division. A child should be around their birth mother first and**  
**foremost. I'll be settling this ridiculous contract Sirius and Molly have drawn**  
**up and you'll be back home in no time.**

**Don't worry.**

**Your loving mother,**  
**Lily.**

Despite what the letter said, Wales had never truly been a home. And certainly not one for her.

And why couldn't she just see that Prue didn't want to deal with her? Prue had made no effort to talk to she or James ever since they'd been released, and she wasn't too stupid to know that Azkaban inmates could get mail. She simply didn't care enough to write to them.

And she had to scoff at the _'child should be around their birth mother'_  tripe. She obviously hadn't believed that a decade ago when she literally sent away one of her children for not being good enough for her! The hypocrisy that Lily seemed to bathe in on the regular was beginning to annoy Prue.

And nothing about the letter was loving. It felt condescending. It felt like Prue was being treated like a child instead of the almost-teenager she was. She wasn't stupid even if she wasn't the best student in her year.

Now she had to go to Sirius to warn him about whatever the redhead was planning. She didn't know what Lily thought she had over Sirius and Mrs. Weasley, but Prue wasn't going back without a fight. Even if running away was necessary.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then come the changes no one expects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I've been sitting on a plot-point in this chapter, for a while! Hinting at it  
> over the course of the story but not making it a big deal. Still, it goes to  
> show that even the smallest pieces of information can be important later  
> on.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**Hermione,**

**Bella's been a bit more busy lately so I haven't gotten the chance to ask her,**   
**so I thought maybe you could help. A while back she asked my mum to help**   
**her find Squib therapists for some of her friends. Since I'm certain you don't**   
**need a therapist, it's all probably to help the others in your group. Specifically**   
**the Nott boy and the Longbottom Boy. Maybe even her sister too if they get a**   
**little closer at some point.**

**I wanted to ask if you could find out if they'd feel more comfortable around**   
**men or women. Certain people who come from traumatic situations, will not**   
**handle certain people well no matter how well-intentioned their actions are.**   
**The Nott boy might not feel comfortable around elderly men, for example.**   
**And the Longbottom boy might now want someone who reminds him of his**   
**grandmother. We want them to progress, not regress.**

**I know it's a bit of extra work but it is for their own good. Bella is adamant**   
**about getting them all help. Therapy helped her a lot, so she believes it'll**   
**help them too.**

**On another note, I have finally managed to successfully breed my Kneazles!**   
**There is a litter on the way and I am so excited because Kneazle kittens are**   
**always different looking than the parents. And they come in various colours**   
**too! Some are obviously not ones that we can trick muggles with, but most**   
**do fit in. They'd assume people were dyeing their pets and would rant over**   
**it if we let the more exotic ones into their world.**

**If you're still interested in purchasing a Kneazle, come see me when school**   
**ends. I'll send you photos if you want to have first pick, and then we'll keep**   
**the kitten in question until you come by to retrieve it. And I've already up a**   
**packet of information on how to properly care for Kneazles and will make a**   
**copy for you.**

**The best part about this is that I've got a license to do it, and I get paid all**   
**the money. My parents told me that I have to be the sole caretaker and if I**   
**prove myself ready for this, I can get my bedroom expanded! That'd mean**   
**more space for all my books. Then we could have a sleepover at my house!**   
**Usually we go it at Bella's because she has a much bigger bed and room, so**   
**it'd be nice to play host to more than just Bella, you know?**

**We visited the states for Christmas. Everything was very festive over there**   
**and they really take decorating seriously. Some people even set up a show**   
**in their neighborhoods so people can deliberately drive by in the snow, just**   
**to look at everything. We found one with a person who rented some horses**   
**and horse-drawn sleighs for a ride around the nearby park for $5. The ride**   
**was fifteen minutes of sparkles and displays that were synced up to music!**

**We don't celebrate Christmas in my house but seeing how into it the people**   
**got over there, made me kind of like it a lot more. One person literally had a**   
**petting zoo that you could walk through and pet all the animals! They had a**   
**manger scene too. And the music! It's all repeats over there! And there are**   
**so many versions of the same song sung by practically everyone! Some are**   
**good and some weren't. Some had great instrumentals, and some didn't. It**   
**was nice.**

**And the shopping! It rivaled Diagon Alley on Election Day! In case you don't**   
**know about it yet, Election Day is more than just a day where the people in**   
**the government are replaced or allowed to keep their positions. It is also a**   
**day where the Ministry enforces a wide sale of everything in Diagon Alley to**   
**distract potential voters. Limited, once in a lifetime sales that only happen**   
**at a certain hour near voting time. And there is no law against it of course,**   
**so they continue doing it every six years. This means less chances to vote**   
**in someone new, usually. And the states at Christmas were very much like**   
**how the people get on Election Day.**

**Sometimes, I think that we as humans forget that there are other humans**   
**outside of our immediate focus. That they are subjective to human nature**   
**and can and will do the same things we do even if we've never met. Some**   
**American muggles(called no-majs there) are just like British muggles. And**   
**despite what people want to ignore, all these people are very much alike.**

**It's a humbling thought.**

**Hoping you are well,**   
**Amara.**

* * *

Aaliyah didn't often have to play hostess to people, but she was becoming used to having Bella's godfathers over for tea. And usually it was tea and discussion. Typically the kind that had her imparting advice upon them because of how unused to parenting they were.

After the drama in the magical papers over the past few weeks, she'd been aware that James and Lily Potter had finally been released from prison and would have to insert themselves back into society once more. She also knew that they might try to cause some friction once again to get people back on their sides, and she'd been correct.

Cue the articles portraying them as simple people. Innocents who had done no wrong. Concerned, first-time parents just doing their best. And some people were even believing it too!

The statements James Potter made about Prunella Potter made her sound more like a commodity than a person though. And his words didn't ring with affection or a relatively positive emotion when speaking of her. Not that people seemed to notice that.

According to Remus, Prunella was worried because she'd recently received a letter from Lily hinting at her possibly acting out soon. And she was worried that she'd have to go back to them at some point, and be forced to stay.

How bad was it living with them, that despite getting everything she ever wanted while growing up, the child did not want to go back if she could help it? What exactly had they put her through to make her detest their house and refuse to return even for a quick visit or to get some of her possessions? She literally had only clothes from their house and even those weren't many in number.

"They can't actually do anything, right?" Aaliyah asked, unsure of how other things on the magical side were handled. Some were pretty backwards but she wasn't aware of everything just yet. "It's not like you've broken the law or anything and she has info on you."

Sirius shook his head. "She has nothing on us, but Molly has been gathering up her memories over the past ten years. Every time Prue visited their home because of something more than just playing, has been set aside in a collection of memory vials just in case. And she's working on extracting some memories from Prue just to be safe. We need proof of poor parenting of the child they kept and Molly swears that there is a lot of it, but she only wants to use it if the Potters act out first."

Then what did Lily Potter think she was going to be able to do? She spent a decade literally sitting back and basking in her daughter's fame, and then saw her perfect world destroyed by her own actions in the span of a few months. It wasn't like she had all that power and reach anymore. The Potter family was nearing destitution in terms of magical wealth now.

Money was gone. Fame was gone. She had nothing left to her name. Marital or adopted. She and her husband didn't exactly get on so there was no love in that relationship. Things were looking bleak for the Potters, so what could possibly assure the woman that she would have succeed in whatever she was planning? in fact, her faith in herself kind of worried Aaliyah a bit.

"And how is Prunella taking the situation?" Aaliyah asked. The one who would be most affected would be her and it was the next five or so years on the line for the girl.

The two men shared a look, before Remus sighed and said, "She seemed resigned to it."

Poor kid. Now more than ever, she was glad that Bella had managed to find her own way in the world without those idiots bringing her down.

* * *

"In the coming days, you may find yourselves under heavy scrutiny by the rest of the students and even the staff. With Salazar Slytherin's portrait being returned to the walls of Hogwarts, there will come many harsh criticisms from others who wish to see you taken down. Whatever happens, you are not to respond when in public. You will not cause a scene. And if our Founder says anything to you, you will listen carefully and without presumption. Do I make myself clear?" Severus asked the gathered students.

His Slytherins all nodded silently. It was best that they understand the situation for what it was. With Salazar right in everyone's face every single day, old grudges against Slytherins were going to rear their hideous heads onces again. Even if the Founders spoke out against the prejudice, it wasn't going to just make it all disappear.

And things might even get worse for a while. They needed to know the truth and Severus wasn't about to be the one to keep it from them. He was the only one on their side from the very beginning. And even if it hurt, he was going to be as brutally honest with them as he could be.

"Do not travel alone. Do not abandon your groups for anything. Your pride as a Hogwarts House is on the line in these coming months. Your dislike for each other will not reach ears outside this Common Room. And if you see anything happening to one of own own, you will act in defence and come to me as quickly as possible with memory intact. Understand?"

"Yes, Professor Snape."

"If the Founders impart any kind of knowledge or wisdom upon you, you are to take it with a gracious attitude and a smile, and thank them for the offer. Do not make yourselves look like the bad ones here and they will take your side. They have been informed of the prejudices running deep in the school from every angle. They will be watching all of us."

He could sense their unease. The dramatic shift among the students pleased him.

Maybe, just maybe, the Founders being around could help Slytherin's reputation finally take a better turn. It was stressful being the Head of the _'evil House'_  and having to watch as children who were not even raised in the magical world, were held accountable for the horrible actions of past Slytherins such as the Dark Lord and ¾ of his followers.

It wasn't a safe environment no matter how much he tried to make it one. For many Slytherins, Hogwarts was a respite from their abusive home lives. And yet Hogwarts couldn't even truly be a safe haven for them because ¾ of the school hated them upon sight.

What was he to do? Granting detentions and taking points wouldn't change their minds. Change only happened if the people themselves  _wanted_  to change.

Who was going to make them want it?

* * *

So Bella had decided to see what was up with the Locket. Since it was Slytherin's Locket, it held value to the Slytherin family and by extension, Tom's blood relations on his mother's side. The Gaunts.

The Locket did not open when she tried opening it. She'd tried every kind of tool she could manage and even ended up breaking a nail down really low, but nothing happened. It was like it had been super-glued shut or something. Did magical people even have glue?

Finally, she stared at the glittering S and hissed, § ** _Open._** § It was worth a shot since it was a Slytherin possession.

It snapped open with a loud  _click_ , revealing two large, dark blue eyes inside the windows. She'd been expecting a portrait or a note within, but instead this was it. And both eyes blinked up at her from where the locket rested in her palm. They weren't whole eyeballs, just the part you would normally see when looking at someone's face.

They were unnerving. And they were not the colour of Salazar's eyes in his portrait. Salazar had green eyes.

The metal turned warm in her palm and she wondered how that was possible. Tom's Diary couldn't do that.

A weird, screechy noise seemed to echo through the dorm room, and she was grateful to have set up a privacy charm that Remus had taught her. She didn't want to deal with anyone's questions.

§ _ **Who are you?**_ § she asked the locket, curious to see if it could speak back like Tom.

The screeching stopped suddenly, leaving her to the stillness of the dorm room.

§ _ **I am Tom,**_ § the Locket responded in Parseltongue. The eyes blinked just like normal eyes. She wondered if those were what Tom's eyes truly looked like. If so… they were lovely. Different shades of blue in every striation. A unique mixture. § ** _Who are_ you _?_** § the Locket asked in return.

§ _ **I'm Belladonna. And I'm a friend of Tom Riddle's.**_ §

Both eyes narrowed and turned crimson and slitted within a second. § _ **How?**_ § it demanded.

Having brought the Diary back with her for the first time, Bella was able to just reach over to her bedside drawer, and pull it out. She waved it three time in front of the eyes. § ** _Tom is my friend. Not really sure if I'm_ his _friend, but our relationship is good enough for me._** §

The red disappeared, and the eyes took on a sort of interested gleam.

§ _ **Place me inside the book and then close it. Do nothing else besides that.**_ §

She was tempted not to just to be contrary, but what could a smaller piece of Tom's soul, do against the biggest piece out there? So she did as she was told and waited.

* * *

Tom blinked at the very sudden and unexpected presence of himself inside his Diary. Having been alone in the sepia world for literal decades, he'd come to expect loneliness until Bella came around to talk every other day. And even then he didn't know what she looked like or sounded like. It was frustrating.

And yet there stood another him, though he could tell it was much older. The hair was a bit thinner and held less of a curl to it. And the face was more sunken in than he expected. He looked like one of the WWII survivors. His robes were horrendous and obviously from the charity shop in Diagon Alley. Not too far past graduation age.

"My Diary fell into the hands of a foolish little girl who thinks you're her friend?" the other him sneered, looking disgusted.

Bristling at the insult to Tom's chosen companion, Tom glared. "Bella is actually my friend and has been invaluable to me. More valuable than my real self has managed to be these past 60+ years."

The other him glared. "I've been in the locket for ages. I know nothing of what has happened."

Tom scoffed at the other him and gestured to a chair at his table. "Then take a seat and listen to what I have to say. It's a good thing time doesn't seem to exist in here."

He was devising a plan. He had information and the Locket had information. Tom had the biggest soul piece though. If it came down to a battle of control between them, he would surely win.

"A lot has happened, and Voldemort had lost his damn sanity. All plans have been ruined by his poor thinking and we need to fix things."

* * *

Another Quidditch game that was a success. Prue had not only managed to beat the score she'd gotten in her second game last season, but the team as a whole had performed better. Each Chaser made at least ten scores of their own, which was a vast improvement compared to exactly one year ago. And the commentators and crowd had noticed!

The turn out had been about half in favour of the Cannons this time, compared to everyone cheering for their competition.

Maybe the team would actually be able to change their motto back to what it used to be when she was finished.

Prue was eager to try more dangerous stunts in the upcoming games. She had full faith that they would make it to the Championship so long as she stayed in good health.

Captain Holt was very pleased.

The sports columns were also bringing up Prue's name a lot more as of late. And it was capturing international attention. Enough for her name to be mentioned in France's  **Le Petit Oracle**. Positive press about her Quidditch skills would make it easier to convince the Welsh National Team to sign her on. And Sirius had agreed to help her when that time came, even if he thought she was a bit young to be an international level player.

He also recognised that it would be foolish to hold Prue back when this was literally all she's trained for when growing up. So he'd agreed to get his own lawyer to help when the time came.

She was excited! All she needed was for James and Lily to stay out of the way until then.

* * *

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be with Belladonna's group?"

Luna took the offered hand and smiled at the girl who was helping her off the floor. She'd gotten a bit lost in thought and had tripped, causing her possessions to spill across the stone. And who should be the one to come out of nowhere and help her up? Why Prunella Potter, that's who.

The redhead was looking a bit better than usual. Her hair was still a mess and her glasses took up half of her face, but she was looking more healthy. Skin tone not a deadly shade of pale like it sometimes was in the visions Luna had received. And her freckles stood out even more than usual in the light of the sunny day that kept the corridor bright.

"I'm fine," the blonde insisted, smoothing over her dress and patting off any dirt. "I just get lost in thought sometimes and it leaves me a little scatterbrained."

"Are you sure that's just it?" Prunella asked warily, looking as if she wanted to say even more but didn't know if it would be welcomed.

Luna's only answer was a questioning look.

"It's just- you know, you get bullied. Like a lot. I was expecting to see someone else here when I saw you laying on the floor."

Oh! That made a lot more sense. She wasn't aware that Prunella Potter was paying so much attention to Bella's group of friends. Perhaps she should keep an eye on the older girl as well?

"No, things have calmed down a lot since I've fallen under Bella's protection. People try to harm me a lot less now." And whether Bella realised it or not, people were wary of approaching her to an extent. There was an air about her that made her seem dangerous even if she wasn't a bully.

"That's good." Prunella looked down at the scattered books and parchment and bent over to help pick everything up. Once it was all situated back into Luna's bag, she handed it over with a small smile. "Don't be afraid to speak up if someone's bothering you." The rays of sunlight shining through the windows, brightened then, illuminating the both of them suddenly.

"I won't," Luna promised, feeling a little stunned by how her heart rate had just sped up for literally not apparently reason.

But she had just noticed that red hair and green eyes were quite fetching in the sunlight.

* * *

** CONVICTED DEATH EATERS  _on the_  LOOSE! **

Dear readers, I regret having to be the one to inform you of this, but two of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's  
followers have managed to escape their Azkaban holding cells. Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew. The  
whereabouts of these criminals are unknown and the last time either was seen was about four months ago.  
No comment was given on why that is the case.

For those who don't recall, Bellatrix Lestrange was considered You-Know-Who's best fighter and Pettigrew  
was the Potter's Secret Keeper under his lord's direction. He gave up the address of Prunella Potter so the  
prophecy could be fulfilled and You-Know-Who would reign over our community without direct opposition.  
And now they are freely roaming about our land.

More about Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew, Prunella Potter, and the "Chosen One's" prophecy can be  
found on Pg. C-1.

This situation has brought many questions forth for consideration. Why is there no regular patrol pattern  
in Azkaban? How could one hundred days have gone by without anyone noticing that two of the most evil  
prisoners were missing? What are the stationed Aurors getting up to when they're on duty? How come it  
took a Dementor going into one of the empty cells for it to realise no one was inside? Why are Dementors  
allowed to just randomly enter prisoner's cells without Ministry order? Why did the Aurors refuse to answer  
any of my questions on the matter?

Furthermore, why is Azkaban so poorly managed? The building is filthy from top to bottom and I was far  
too terrified to even touch anything while there. Why are members of our society not being watched over  
properly while behind those, aged, bronze doors?

I promise to do my best to get to the bottom of this!

On a side note, the Ministry requests that if anyone catches sight of these criminals, they are to bring a  
memory of the event in to the Auror Office for further investigation. If you are found withholding news  
you will find yourself spending a week in Azkaban as punishment.

_Rita Skeeter,_   
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

It was perfect! Of all the things that could happen, this would surely give James the push he needed in the Wizengamot. Proving how incompetent the workers of Azkaban were, would be the first step in reforming the prison and changing things around. Rita had, unknowingly, helped him a great deal by printing such an article right now!

He  _was_  minutely worried over Bellatrix's escape, but Peter was nothing to worry about. He'd had no remarkable abilities in school and it was only by Lupin's help that he managed to become an Animagus. The best thing he'd be used for would be legwork and even that wouldn't be something he'd be good at. He was a very clumsy person and all around awkward as an individual.

Not knowing where Bellatrix was hiding meant there was no point in trying to find her. After being in prison for so long, she wouldn't just up and show her face again so soon. She'd never been a dumb one. So it was best to focus on everything  _else_  going on around them at present. Get as much done as they could before she decided it was time to act.

James had already acquired every law book he could at the Ministry's Hall of Records. So far he'd found that Azkaban was violating nineteen laws the Minsitry had never bothered to change, and he was building a sound lawsuit with the help of his barrister, John.

He was mainly doing this for himself. He was angry over his year in prison and how wrongfully he'd been treated for the lowest of possible convictions. And he knew that once the purpose of the lawsuit came out, and people read through every detail of exactly what laws the Ministry was breaking, even those of family members who'd committed terrible acts like murder or torture, would jump on the wagon and aim at the Ministry too. All that attention wouldn't be good for Fudge's lazy arse and he'd be under a hot flame until he decided to do something or risk his chances at being re-elected.

He'd been aware for some time that the Ministry was corrupt. He simply hadn't thought it extended this terribly. And he'd been given no reason to think on it because his experience before prison hadn't been so terrible.

While James was busy building a solid argument to get what he wanted, Lily was lazing around. She hadn't even bothered to leave the house yet from what he had noted. And she wasn't corresponding with anyone. If she wasn't so emotionless, he would have thought her to be depressed.

Not that he cared. If she didn't seek to make life fulfilling, then that was on her. He wasn't her keeper and he had more important things to see to as of late.

Such as trying to get hold of Prue, trying to get this lawsuit written up properly, and trying to make his station in society what it once was.

If his parents were still alive, they would have left his arse stinging for all of this negative press heaped onto the Potter name. He'd locked their portraits in the family vault for a reason all those years ago. His mum would have tanned his hide without hesitation if she knew how badly their family was viewed now. And it wasn't even his fault!

Deciding it was best to visit John to finalise the paperwork, James sent Lily a blank look and said, "I'm heading to Diagon Alley."

She gave no answer, which wasn't shocking. He'd gotten used to her attitude in recent years.

Maybe Azkaban had affected her more than she let on.

He paused in the doorway to look back and see if there  _was_  something he'd possibly missed in her expression. But no, she was simply staring at the hearth that remained unlit, her face passive and gaunt.

A shiver trailed down his spine and his head snapped around, searching for the Dementor that he already knew wouldn't be there! He really wished his body would stop doing that! Azakaban was behind him now and that meant it needed to leave him alone!

And he needed to make certain that the hearth was always lit because the cold was not appealing any longer and it reminded him of the Dementors far too much.

* * *

Easter wasn't something that anyone in Hogwarts celebrated. Okay, maybe like five people in total who were that kind of religious, but there legally had to be a break from schooling at some point between December and June, and April was the perfect time to do so. So they called it Easter hols and left it at that. This time it was the last day of March but it was basically the same thing.

Prue had planned to not go home for the week they'd gotten off. She hadn't signed the paper to go home either. Sirius and Remus were at the school so she already had a guardian present, and Mrs. Weasley had given the okay for her to remain at the school along with the rest of her children. That was 2/4 of her guardians who agreed on the same thing.

So why did Lily think she could just up and take Prue away without anyone doing anything about it? As Prue had many guardians, one couldn't simply take her somewhere without informing one of the others. Like how Sirius couldn't take her to the mainland of Europe with Mrs. Weasley's permission. There were rules in place and since Lily didn't have James with her, it was just her word to go by, which wasn't enough. And if the other guardians didn't agree with the desired action, it couldn't be done at all.

McGonagall had been the first line of defence but since she could not legally withhold a student from their guardian, she had to call Prue up to her office. Thankfully she'd thought ahead and also called Sirius. McGonagall was often guilty of not doing anything, or not doing enough, but she was at least not on James or Lily's side and that made her at least tolerable.

"I want her home for the week," Lily said, getting right up in Sirius' face. Both were tall and nearly the same height so it was practically even between them. She looked different though.

Her hair had been chopped all the way up to her chin and her body was much thinner than Prue remembered. She had also forgone robes, instead just wearing denim trousers and a red jumper. Standing opposite Sirius, she looked like a mess who wouldn't be able to stand up for herself let alone a child in her care. It was the least put together she'd ever been in Prue's eyes.

"Prue doesn't  _want_  to leave the castle for Easter. Molly and I have already agreed to let her stay. James isn't here with you and you cannot take her nor do you have a leg to stand on in this scenario."

Her head kept moving from side to side as the argument continued. Sirius would sneer something, Lily would try to enforce some idea she'd come up with. McGonagall remained seated at the desk behind them, looking as if she wanted everyone to simply go away and leave her some peace. To think this was only the little bit of Lily she had to deal with. Prue got her for eleven years in a row!

"You're up to something, and don't think I won't find out. I have methods of extracting information, Potter."

She glared at him. "Planning on using Dark Arts on me, Black?"

Even Prue had to roll her eyes at that one. Sirius didn't use Dark Magic ever. Everyone knew it. He was ridiculously proud of it even. Bragged about it whenever he found the time to.

"I have other ways. Ways far more merciful than a mere torture curse. Either cease whatever ridiculous plot you've cooked up, or all of your dirty secrets will be bared to the public."

Lily scoffed in his face. "I've never had anything to hide and no secrets that you think you know of!"

It was Prue's turn to scoff. "Just like you weren't hiding the fact that Belladonna never lived with us, from the population of Magical Britain?" She couldn't help it. She knew a lot of things about her parents. Things they didn't think she'd witnessed. She knew far more than she let on, and if Mrs. Weasley asked her to share those things, then she'd do it just to see Lily's face of horror once it was all revealed.

"The adults are talking, Prue. Stay quiet," Lily ordered without even looking at Prue. In fact, she had yet to look at Prue since she'd entered McGonagall's office. It was nothing new. In the past few years, sometimes it felt more like Lily was looking  _through_  Prue instead of  _at_  her.

Even if Prue was twelve years old, she didn't like to be treated like a child. And the reason for that was because adults were always going around, acting as if children didn't know anything and therefore couldn't have a damn opinion on what was going on. And they always took the child's voice from them to make themselves feel smarter. Merlin forbid the kid actually be the smart one or be capable of thinking.

Lily had this thing where she would talk in a sweet voice but do not sweet things. It always felt condescending to Prue, and she hated to think of it and what it could mean.

A fellow Gryffindor, who was a Seventh Year muggleborn, would call her a 'Kiss Arse'. A 'brown noser'.

The friction between Sirius and Lily didn't let up for a second and Remus placed a hand on Prue's back in the best sign of comfort he could give her given their current relationship.

She just wanted to go back to the dorm and play chess with Ron, even if he'd destroy her at it.

* * *

There was a commotion out in the Entrance Hall. It wasn't odd for drama to happen there as it was a school full of children and drama happened all the time. But this kind of drama was new because it was happening over the Founders' portraits. Specifically, a Ravenclaw was arguing with their Founder over the values of Ravenclaw House and Rowena was simply not having it.

The whole school very well couldn't cram into the hall itself, nor could they see everything from the Great Hall, but they could very well hear everything going on.

It all started when Rowena's voice echoed through the Great Hall during breakfast. She was chastising a student for attacking another student, not just in broad daylight, but for doing it at all. Bella had to remind herself that each Founder stood for different things. Slytherin was more for cunning and Ravenclaw was supposed to be more for acceptance.

Word spread quickly that it was an older Ravenclaw who had cursed a first year Slytherin while her back was turned. While she had been minding her own business and reading book on fairytales. And unfortunately, she'd forgotten the rule about never going anywhere alone and staying in a group. An attack happened right in front of the Founders and Rowena had been the very first to speak because it was a member of her House who had assaulted another student in a place meant for safety for magical children.

"How dare you!" has echoed through the two rooms that stood right beside one another. "If your House hadn't already been removed form the points competition this year, due to your own actions may I remind you, I would have removed every point myself and issued you a detention for the rest of the term!"

The Great Hall had gone silent when her voice had called out so loudly, waiting to hear more. Some students had even gotten up to get a closer look at the action themselves. They'd been too curious to mind their own business, but all of them were guilty of that so it wasn't such a big deal. Watching other people get into trouble was fun sometimes.

"But she's a slimy Slytherin!" was the Ravenclaw boy's response. That kind of thing always annoyed Bella because snakes weren't even slimy! Snakes were rather dry for the most part!

And that set it off. There was a reason Ravenclaws were considered know-it-alls. Bella couldn't even recall all of the words that had been used, but she did know that Rowena had basically called the boy and idiot in at least thirteen different ways and three languages. And her voice progressively got louder and louder as the tirade continued.

"And how dare you perpetuate the ridiculous notion that Salazar would  _ever_  conspire against children of any sort!" she went on to say. "Mark my words you are going to attack the wrong person one day, young man, and it is going to be your downfall. A Slytherin will end up being the only one who can save you and none of them will bother if you keep treating them like this! You are on your way to graduation and you still haven't grasped the fact that the world isn't split up in the four Hogwarts Houses!"

It was brutal and amazing, and everything Bella had been wanting to be said aloud for the entire school to hear. And Salazar had done nothing to stop her as she defended him.

Hearing a Hogwarts Founder, who wasn't their own, defending them, had Slytherin House in a state of shock. Many of the students looked to be confused over why Rowena Ravenclaw would defend them at all, and the rest of the school was even more baffled, though mostly because their attitudes were finally being called out and they weren't used to being punished for their actions by anyone other than Batman.

Since no one else really called out the prejudices against Slytherins, the rest of the school laboured under the impression that B-Man was overreacting and favouring the Slytherins too much. He was 'so unfair to everyone else' and all that rubbish!

Bella looked toward where McGonagall was standing from her seat at the center of the Head Table. Her mouth was pinched together so tight it was almost as if it would never open again. She probably didn't like the faults of the school being pointed out so brazenly, but what would she be able to do against the school's Founders?

Hogwarts was not perfect no matter how much the alumni of all ages believed it was. Sexism and Blood Purism were rampant through the halls, and it wasn't just in Slytherin that these things were prevalent. Ravenclaw housed a considerable amount of Pureblood Supremacists, but they slipped under the radar because they weren't in the  _'evil House'_  and didn't use Dark Magic. As if that made any difference in the end.

Coming from a person who grew up in the modern world and got to watch as things slowly but surely got better in society, Bella could see the many flaws. And she knew that Hermione could as well. Magical Britain needed to be brought out of the Middle Ages. It was far too backwards to truly thrive and if they wanted to continue existing, things needed to be changed. Not just by introducing muggleborns and Squibs back into the community, but by expanding their community altogether and being more open.

McGonagall stalked down the center aisle of the Great Hall and out the double doors. Students hastily split down the middle to let her pass and she could be heard demanding to know exactly what had happened. The downed Slytherin girl was obvious enough to explain what happened however.

"What would make you think this was okay?" she demanded of the Ravenclaw.

And He'd dared to shrug and tell her, "We do it all the time and no one but Snape cared enough to stop us before, so we believed it was fine."

While his candidness did make Bella very angry, she knew that it was necessary to possibly  _finally_  getting McGonagall's head out of her arse and make her pay attention. People didn't take the Slytherin's side in anything ever. And he'd just blatantly admitted to using that to his advantage to get away with assault. Repeatedly.

Hopefully it would instigate some change. Hopefully.

* * *

Albus had to wonder how things had become so... different. And not even for the better in his humble opinion. Having the Founders around once again was troublesome for more reasons than he cared to enumerate, but he did not like it and made his feelings known to Minerva.

She did not listen to him and went ahead with hanging them up and charming them alongside Filius so no one would be able to remove them without extensive know how. Meaning if they went missing, only few people would be looked to and Albus would be among them, so he could not put them back in the Room of Requirement now.

And why was this happening? because Belladonna Potter's group had decided to get involved and were now affecting everything in the school. And the great change he'd been expecting wasn't coming from Prunella, who still was doing average work on half of her classes. Sure, she was advanced in Defence and Charms and Quidditch, but the rest she simply didn't care for and put no effort into.

He was frustrated over both girls and how the one who was supposed to save them all wasn't doing her duty, and how the forgotten one was more of a heroine that her own twin was.

How had it all come to this?

And did people forget that Tom Riddle was out there still, trying to regain power? And if Bellatrix and Peter managed to find him somehow, they could help him return to power even faster than before.

Yet no one seemed concerned but him!

Albus would have to do everything himself and that was simply not hos prophecy intended for it to be! The prophecy specifically stated that  **Dark Lord Would Mark the Child as His Equal**!

He was given pause as the quote rang through his mind. The prophecy hadn't specified the gender of the one who would defeat Tom. And three children had been born at the end of July. It very well could be possible that Belladonna or Neville Longbottom could be the ones the prophecy spoke of. It never said when Tom would mark the child, just that the child would be marked.

Perhaps Albus needed to come at this from a different angle. Neville Longbottom wasn't anything spectacular, but if Albus spoke with Augusta, they might be able to get working on him. Belladonna was a far better choice as a defeater of Voldemort, but she didn't seem as tied to the magical world as the former two children were. How would she be forced to confront Voldemort? How can Albus manipulate events to where that would be necessary?

And the public would be made to see reason eventually once Voldemort returned and once again renewed his reign of terror. And since Albus wasn't the one who spread the news of Prunella defeating Voldemort, nor did he give her the title Girl-Who-Lived, he couldn't possibly take any of the blame for it. Meaning James and Lily would be in for a rough time if Albus revealed that Prunella wasn't the Child of Prophecy.

But it was for the Greater Good. If they had to suffer some more, then so be it.

With this in mind, Albus simply had to wait patiently for any signs of Tom trying to return to power.

* * *

_The Locket Will no longer speak to you._

Bella blinked, having not expected that the moment she opened up the Diary again.

**Did you do something to it?**

_I absorbed the piece of soul inside it. The piece did not have enough magic, nor was it_   
_big enough, to give me a body again. I will need the soul and magic of Xenophon after_   
_all, but at least I am more informed than I was before._

Well Bella wasn't sad about that. For a moment she wondered if there was something wrong with her that she was planning the murder of someone all to get her friend a body. And then she remembered who the soon-to-be murdered individual was, and her guilt melted away immediately.

Xenophon Nott was a monster and his death would be mourned by no one. Not even his own grandson. He deserved what was coming to him and honestly, Bella was kind of sad it would be as easy and sucking out his soul and magic.

That bloodthirsty side of her personality was rearing its ugly head again. A bit concerning but not too much.

**That's good! You have even more soul that Voldy does now and you can take**   
**care of Theo's problem at the same time. It'll all work out!**

_Not yet I'm afraid._

Huh?

**Why not?**

_He was… going mad, Bella. The soul piece itself was only about nineteen years old and_   
_yet he was already losing his mind. I've gained all of his memories up until his creation_   
_and it got so much worse than I ever imagined it being. He worked in Knockturn Alley!_   
_Of all the places to get a job after school, that was where he'd decided to gain followers_   
_and grow his support base. I'm appalled._

_I need time to assimilate all of these new memories. I don't feel stable enough to commit_   
_to anything right now and I feel - actually FEEL - like I've been spinning for half a century_   
_and have only just stopped moving. It's nauseating. He murdered more people and made_   
_more Horcruxes. Hufflepuff's Cup is also one. He was planning to search for Ravenclaw's_   
_Diadem after the Locket was made._

That sucked. Voldy's soul was so effed up that it was literally making an incorporeal being physically ill.

Weird.

And at least she knew what another Horcrux was. If she found it for Tom, then that would be another soul piece on his side. How many did Voldy even make? And why did he think this many was necessary?

**I'm sorry, Tom. Does this mean I can wear the locket like it's normal now?**

_It isn't a Horcrux any longer. Have no fear. I feel dizzy._

**If I could make it stop I would.**

_I know. I don't think I'll be able to talk much for a while. I'm sorry._

**Tom?**

**Tom?**

Nothing but silence from his end.

**Get well, Tom.**

* * *

Another first place certificate! Bella was super excited about it because she'd once again succeeded at another local...ish competition and it made Juniors look all the more appealing in her mind's eye. Of course Aaliyah had to be the voice of reason though.

"Don't get your hopes up. When you enter Juniors, you will be the youngest by three years. The others will have been in Juniors at least that long, save for Sandra Lewis. They'll have more experience than you and could very well beat you out at any time. Getting complacent now will only hurt your chances later on."

She knew this objectively, and she did in no way think she was the best skater in the world. But could she really be blamed for how she viewed things? Her Twice-Blessed ability allowed her to succeeded so long as she put her everything into what she wanted, and then she wouldn't retain injuries for too long. It was an epic combination! So Bella had better chances naturally than her skating peers!

She was sure she'd at least medal at her first Junior competition. She'd been putting too much effort into rounding out her skill set, just for it to go to waste. The training had to have a pay off at some point.

How else was she going to surpass her idol, Kim Yuna?

Bella had high hopes for her future.

* * *

Lily was sat in one of the offices inside Gringotts. She wasn't there as a member of the Potter family however, and had requested the assistance of any Goblin capable of giving an Inheritance Test.

Once, back in her fourth year, she'd brewed the potion wizards used with the help of Severus Snape. They'd both taken a look at their family histories and that was how she'd learned she was adopted. When she returned home to confront her parents about it, they'd been honest, but after lying to her her entire life, she felt she couldn't trust them. And so she stopped reaching out.

The results of the test had been burned because she'd been terrified of anyone finding out. Her fellow Gryffindors would have burned her alive for it, so it was best that she take it to the grave. Yet now, with how her life had been backed into a dingy corner with no means of escape available, she'd decided to reveal the truth. And the best way was to get her blood tested by the Goblins, whose magic was more advanced.

The Goblin aiding her was named Ungrphkik. He was like all Goblins. Short, surly, and with hands mostly made of gnarled fingers tipped with massive claws that could probably deal heavy damage if he so desired.

"There will be no going back from this," he warned her in a deep monotone, showing he didn't care and was just doing his job. Forewarning her though to consider what this all meant.

"I am aware. But it needs to be done."

It was something she'd kept close to the chest her entire adult life, but she felt it was time to say something. Claiming her Houses would allow her more… leverage. And it would give her the out she needed and a better position in the current society of Magical Britain.

"Sign here, here, and here. Then you'll initial everywhere else. All of your initials, please?" the Goblin ordered, proffering a long parchment.

Lily read through the printed words just to be sure, and then signed her blood name with a Black Quill. The page grew warm and turned as red as her blood for a second, before returning to normal.

"It is finished," Ungrphkik said with a snap of the fingers. "Would you like a few moments to collect yourself before we continue?"

She shook her head. She'd taken decades to collect herself in regards to this information. She didn't need any more time to make up her mind over it. She just wanted to get it all done and over with. "I'm ready."

"Then I shall collect the Selwyn, Blishwick, and Gaunt Account Managers."

On the parchment, staring up at her with words that had haunted her since she was fourteen, was her true name. The one that revealed to her the fact that she had been adopted. The one that made her Fifth Year such a struggle.

She was seeking to shorten her full name in the coming days once she had everything set up. But the others… would be necessary no matter how Dark aligned they were. She'd planned to go her entire life without sharing this secret, but now it had to come into the light.

Lily Hyacinth Potter Selwyn Blishwick Gaunt. Daughter of Ambrosia Selwyn and Arvant Blishwick. And who had Ambrosia been the illegitimate daughter of? Artemis Selwyn and Morfin Gaunt. And she was the only one left in each of those three lines, capable of becoming the Head of each.

Lily was one of Slytherin's descendants. Nothing in her life would be the same after today. But maybe that was just fine.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drama continues to unfold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -You know, I'm certain Lily's inbred genes have rendered her a bit loopy in the head.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"I'm not looking forward to the summer," Neville murmured when they all sat down in the library. "My gran sent me another letter that basically told me to get ready for more training with Moody and threatening me to do well or else. I don't want to train. I don't want to be an Auror."

Theo hummed. "I get you. I don't want to be a Death Eater but grandfather's desires come first and no one else can stop him."

It was really unfair that they both got stuck with such horrible families. Neville was dropped off of piers and allowed to drown for not displaying magic, while Theo was tortured in order to understand the Dark Magic being used on him. It was a mess.

Hermione shook her head in disappointment. "It's a good thing Bella isn't here for this. She'd go spare."

"She'll find out eventually," said Blaise with a shrug. "There's no hiding this kind of truth. It'll happen and the best we can do it just be there for emotional support they'll need eventually."

That obviously didn't make the brunette happy, but she said nothing in response as she focused on her review for their end of the year exams. Said review that she'd duplicated for all of them to study with.

Neville's mind was still on the reality of his situation. And he wondered. "Am I a bad person for wishing something horrible on my family just so I don't have to deal with them any longer?"

It was Theo who answered first, and his answer consisted of him shaking his head madly in a negative. "Wanting bad people to stop doing bad things, does not make you a bad person. I feel the same and I know  _I'm_  not a bad person."

Blaise and Hermione were nodding along. Hermione looked ready to spit fire, her hair sparking as it began to poof up and out. "You are victims. Do not let anyone try to convince you that your feelings aren't important or something you don't have a right to. That's how they try to control you and take away your autonomy."

"Yeah, and don't for a second start thinking that it's unnatural either. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be safe and happy," added Blaise.

Theo reached out to rub Neville's back soothingly, a small smile on his face. "We understand and we won't judge you for how you feel. And I know neither Bella or Luna would hold it against you either. Don't worry about it."

It was nice to have friends.

* * *

"Sirius, something came in the post for you," Remus murmured that morning in their rooms. Often did they choose to take breakfast together away from the bustle of the students, and often did the mail end up in their rooms as well, courtesy of the House Elves.

Still, he'd never gotten mail that had Remus looking worried.

"What is it, Moony?" he asked, wiping his hands on a kerchief before taking the letter from his husband.

It was from Gringotts. A notice from Gringotts. On a weekday?

Hesitantly, Sirius ripped the side off and pulled the parchment out. It was thick and heavy, meaning of good quality. And the ink thereon was mauve instead of black like he'd come to expect from official notices.

 **To Lord Sirius Orion Black,**  
**Godfather and Paternal Guardian to Belladonna Pandora Potter-Michaels and Prunella**  
**Alula Potter**  
**Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black**

 **Salutations on this fine day. This letter is to inform you of the change of status of your**  
**daughters, Belladonna Potter and Prunella Potter. Formerly just the children of House**  
**Potter, they are now also children of House Selwyn, House Blishwick, and House Gaunt**  
**through their maternal lineage.**

 **Lady Lily Hyacinth Potter has now taken up Ladyship of these Houses and has instated**  
**Belladonna Potter as Heiress to both Gaunt and Blishwick lines, and Prunella Potter as**  
**Heiress Selwyn while retaining the title of Heiress Potter. As such, requirements must**  
**be met due to their newest status change among Magical Britain's hierarchy.**

 **All other guardians of Belladonna Potter and Prunella Potter have been notified of the**  
**changes. You must present yourselves to Gringotts' Britain Branch on 15 May 2013, to**  
**discuss further details in the futures of the children under your guardianship.**

 **May Magic Bless You and Yours,**  
**Rhodedektrych the Righteous,**  
**Gringotts' Head of House Distribution and Management.**

"Well fuck," was all he could say in response to that very sudden and unexpected information drop. It changed a lot of things.

"What's going on, Padfoot?" Remus asked in concern.

"Lily's been up to some dirty shite," said Sirius as he handed the letter over. "We need to get the girls up here and explain this. Hell, we need Aaliyah and Molly here too so we can all get on the same page."

"Sweet Merlin," his husband whispered to himself as his eyes trailed down the page. "She does nothing by halves. How did she keep this a secret for so long?"

"I haven't the foggiest, but I intend to get to the bottom of it. And you know damn well that James is not going to be happy. They're all Dark Families and he's a bloody righteous cockwomble when it come to that."

* * *

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh  _MY_  God! Oh my  _GOD_!  _Oh my God_!  ** _OH MY GOD_**!"

Now, to any passive observer who had just found out this newest piece of information, they might have taken Bella's ramblings to just be utter shock. Maybe even minute horror over being related to Salazar Slytherin. Seeing as Bella didn't care about that at all because she wasn't a judgmental dick, she had other things to consider.

Like the fact that she and Tom, and by extension, Voldemort, were related. Tom's original idea wasn't actually wrong, which was the amazing thing. So because of this, she had to go and look at their family tree to see exactly what their relation was and how far apart they were.

On the side, this also made her think about Hermione's research. Lily Potter was not a muggleborn, but she'd been found in the muggle world and then adopted by muggles. Bella needed to learn the rest of the information and then bring her findings to Hermione so she could do what she can with it all.

Finally… did that mean that Prue could talk to snakes too?

"Serpensortia!" Bella hissed, summoning a cobra from wherever the spell took it from, to test her theory.

§ _ **Who would dare to disturb my slumber?!**_ § the snake hissed, its hood fanning open threateningly. The adults drew their wands immediately just in case.

§ _ **Sorry!**_ § Bella hissed. § _ **I wanted to find out if my sister can speak to snakes!**_ §

Prue's head whipped around to stare at Bella. § _ **You already knew you could talk to snakes?**_ §

Bella shrugged. § _ **Yeah. Been wanting one as a pet for a while. I didn't know why I could talk to them but at least I have an answer now. And certain Slytherins can stop bitching about me not being Slytherin enough for them! Ha!**_ §

It ended up being a much better revelation than she could hope for. Though she didn't know what Lily was playing at with making Bella the Heiress to the Gaunts. And Bella wouldn't be allowed to refuse because she was underage and the choice of Heirship belonged solely to the Head of the family of said Heir.

That was why neither James or Lily could contest Sirius making her the Black Heiress. And she just reminded herself of the fact that she was the Heiress to more than one family now!

Sirius and Remus looked utterly baffled over the events unfolding around them, and Bella felt kind of bad. It seemed like nothing would be going right in their lives so long as Lily and James were mobile and capable of causing trouble.

The cobra was vanished before it could cause any trouble. Bella had gotten her answer and that was good enough.

"So the twins are Parselmouths, and the Prophet is going to get a hold of this story very quickly. Once Lily's Ladyship is finalised, the records at the Ministry will have to be updated. And people in the Ministry don't really know how to keep their mouths shut," said Remus in contemplation.

That got a nod from his husband. "Yeah. It might backfire on her in the long run though. While it's not right, there is still prejudice against families who are generally sorted into Slytherin and all three are Dark Aligned. Whatever Light support she still had will be gone in the blink of an eye. And I'm not so certain the Dark would accept her either. Not after believing her to be a muggleborn for so long only to find that she was lying the entire time. And the abandoning of a child to muggles of course."

Prue snorted suddenly, making them all look to her to see what was so funny. "She  _did_  end up having a big secret that you didn't know after all."

Bella didn't know what that meant but considering the look passed between their godfathers, it wasn't good.

* * *

"WHY DID I HAVE TO LEARN FROM A GRINGOTTS LETTER THAT YOU'RE NOT A FUCKING MUGGLEBORN?! AND NOT EVEN THAT! YOU'RE A BLOODY DARK WITCH ON TOP OF IT ALL!"

Lily hadn't expected James to be this angry. He was hard to take seriously most of the time, that she forgot that he'd been an Auror once upon a time and that he could be very dangerous in his own right. Him always walking away when she dared him to hit her back though, made her lose any respect she'd had for him. Which in turn made her forget what he was capable of. And she couldn't be blamed since what kind of coward walks away when challenged to a fist fight by his wife? He was a damn embarrassment.

But now his magic was roiling unlike it ever had before.

"I am  _NOT_  a Dark Witch!" she hissed in response, offended at the mere suggestion. "We've been married since the bloody 80s, you would have noticed if I was or not by now, you daft twat!"

James obviously didn't care. "The spawn of three of the Darkest families to serve under Voldemort is just as bad if not worse! You've practically been steeped in Dark Magic from the cradle!"

Well then. Lily leveled him with a glare. "Your own mother was a member of one of those Dark Families that served Voldemort and her marriage was approved of by her family and she was never stricken from her bonds with them. She too was _'steeped in Dark Magic from the cradle'_. Care to rethink that opinion of yours, dear husband of mine? You're the spawn of a Black and a Black is currently Voldemort's right hand minion and is running free!"

He did not appreciate the reminder of the fact that he was not purely Light. If Dorea's portrait was still in their house, she would have taken him to task for what he'd said. In fact, Lily now understood why the portraits of Charlus and Dorea had been moved to the vault in the first place.

"At least I didn't spend three and a half decades lying about where I come from!"

"It wasn't as if you needed to know anyway," Lily insisted. "It wasn't important."

His fist came down on the kitchen table, making her jump at how sudden the movement and following noise were. "It damn well is important! I never would have wasted all that time on you if I'd known you were just as bad as Snape! I thought you were different and innocent, and he was dragging you down with his Darkness, but now I see that the only way he could have been drawn to you at all was because you're foul, just like him!"

Lily had never been so insulted in her life. She was a thousand times better than Severus had ended up becoming! She believed it to the very marrow of her bones! How dare James say such things to her!

"And yet if I recall correctly, you were drawn to me the entire time we were in school," she said with a smirk at his expense. "The moment we reached our fourth year, you were hounding me for dates left and right and not even bothering to be subtle about it. So it says a lot about your character that you would be so captivated by someone 'Dark' like me, doesn't it?"

She was right and she knew she was right. She could remember every failed advance he'd ever made. Ever single come on. Every damn minute where he stared at her like she'd hung the moon, and then opened his mouth to say something asinine and further ruin his chances.

And he dared to say that  _he_  wouldn't have even bothered with her if he knew where she'd truly come from?! Lily was the best thing he'd ever get! She'd known it back in school and she knew it well now. With his reputation now, he'd be lucky to even bed a common trollop. No one would want to be touched by him.

"I want a divorce."

Well that was exactly what she'd been wanting too, so it wasn't a surprise. Lily reached into her handbag and pulled out the file filled with the paperwork necessary. She slapped it down on the table with a triumphant grin and said, "Be my guest and sign where required!"

James stared down at the file. It was tan and unassuming. He obviously hadn't expected her to think this far ahead. It seemed as if Prue finally had a good idea for once. A divorce  _was_  the best option for them at this point.

"Fine," the man finally said, teeth clenched together. "Who gets what?"

Lily scoffed. "Anything I personally own will be coming with me. You can keep everything else or toss it. I don't care." There had been no prenuptial agreement because in the folly of their youth, they'd believed they'd never separate and would be together forever.

Oh, how the tables had turned on them both!

If James hadn't grown to be such an intolerant piece of shite, Lily would have never had to go to such extremes! But  _no_. He simply couldn't mature like everyone else in their year had, could he?

Even Black was acting more mature!

Perhaps she'd been mistaken to believe he'd changed.

* * *

Molly stared down at the letter on the kitchen table and took a few deep breaths in order to center herself. This hadn't been what she was expecting of Lily or James, but it was certainly something.

With those three Houses under her belt, the court might determine Lily a better primary guardian for Prue. The Weasleys weren't financially well off, this was common information. They made up for it with a farm and orchard, and passing items on to the next in line so they maintained use for many years. But with the money and security three different Houses would provide her, far more than what was left to the Potter name, Lily might be able to sway others to her side.

Even with all they'd gathered on her poor parenting ability, it might not be enough. Especially if she pushed enough of that money around to get her way. Not everyone was a decent person. Money talked and the majority of people walked. That was how it was in their government.

Their own Minister took bribes from the Malfoy family. It was common knowledge even if he tried to pretend it didn't happen. Politicians could be bought off with enough money, and Molly wasn't certain Sirius' lone House would not be able to contest three of considerable repute.

The Weasley name wouldn't do much in this situation.

Arthur would be home some time in the morning and she wasn't looking forward to having to explain the situation to him.

She could only imagine how Prue was taking it all.

* * *

Bella didn't often have to get up in front of people and speak, but this was a time where it was absolutely necessary for her to. It was best that he Housemates got the information from her own two lips, than some shoddy journalist in The Daily Prophet.

"I have an announcement that will no doubt make the papers soon! I felt you should know first. Mind you all, I only just found out myself."

The Common Room wasn't completely full, but she knew the information would spread because it was that serious. The gathered Slytherins all watched her with poorly masked curiosity. If Bella was getting up and addressing them when she usually ignored them, then it had to be important.

"Lily Potter has recently assumed Ladyship over the Houses of Selwyn, Blishwick, and Gaunt, after a thorough blood test at Gringotts revealed her true ancestry. I had known she was adopted by muggles, but I did not know she was actually a Pureblood. I had also known I was a Parselmouth, but I did not know how since no Potter had mingled with a descendant of Slytherin in our entire history."

The room was deathly silent and jaws had dropped.

Marcus Flint was the one to speak up. "The Gaunts were the last known descendants of Salazar Slytherin's family."

She nodded. "As it seems, Prue, Lily, and I are the last living members of Salazar's relatives." She said living because Voldy was banished as a spirit somewhere and Tom was stuck in a book with only part of a soul. Neither could really be considered living at this point. "Lily has, for some unknown reason, instated me as Heiress Gaunt."

In short, Bella was now the Heiress of Slytherin. She was the truest Slytherin out of all of her classmates.

"Make sure you spread the news around. I'd hate to have to put more people in their place because they mistakenly tried to assert themselves over this 'Muggle-Loving Bitch'."

Several students winced and she knew she had them. Only the truly daft would act out against her now and that was good in her opinion.

* * *

Bella was the Slytherin of Slytherins. It seemed almost poetic in a sense that she would end up being related to their House Founder. Theodore didn't know how his grandfather was going to react to the information. Once it was public knowledge, there was going to be a public outcry over it.

Luckily for Bella, she didn't care much for the opinions of the magical people. She was focused on other things. However this would cause a lot of problems all around for people who were too prejudiced to set aside their beliefs and actually learn.

Theo could see the consequences of Lily Potter's actions though. Prue Potter was a Gryffindor and that situation would not go over well with the lions who believed themselves to be righteous. Neville's grandmother was the world's biggest bitch and there was no telling how she'd handle it. While Bella lived in the muggle world and was focused on a muggle sport, Augusta Longbottom might not want Neville to associate with Bella any longer.

It could basically cause a rift in their group of friends. Blaise' mum wouldn't care, and Luna's dad wouldn't mind either. Hermione's parents were muggles who weren't aware of just how deep the prejudice ran in the school or their community as a whole.

The rest of the student population was full of prejudiced arseholes. Prejudice came in many different forms and hatred of Slytherins was one of the worst in Hogwarts. They'd have to be extra alert now, for Bella's sake. If someone was stupid enough to curse a Slytherin in front of the Founders' Portraits, then Theo had no faith in the supposed safety of the school.

He found himself bitter over it all.

At least they had Snape on their side and he would rain down hell upon anyone who so much as harmed a Slytherin.

* * *

 **Tom! I know you can't respond any time soon, but I literally need to tell you about**  
**what's going on! So much has happened recently and you are never gonna believe**  
**the crap I'm about to tell you! I don't even think I believe most of it myself tbh. It**  
**is a lot to take in at once but since you've got time in there, I figured it'd be fine to**  
**dump this all on you now. You can parse through it at your own speed.**

Never let it be said that Bella was inconsiderate! She wasn't pushing him to respond any time soon, she was just using his Diary like it was her own personal journal. That could talk back sometimes and form its own conclucions.

Yeah. He wouldn't mind. He liked information.

This would totally benefit him in the long run anyway.

 **So Lily and James are no longer the happy couple they once were, though it seems**  
**they haven't been for a long time anyway. And Lily has gone behind his back to get**  
**an official blood test from the Goblins to reveal her true parentage and has claimed**  
**Ladyship of three Houses! This whole time she knew about this too! But because of**  
**people's prejudices, she decided not to say anything years ago.**

 **It turns out your original assumption had been correct. When it comes to me being**  
**a Parselmouth, it's actually from her! Lily is the daughter of Ambrosia Selwyn and**  
**Arvant Blishwick! She is the only person of both families, capable of taking over as**  
**the Head because the remaining members are in prison. And Ambrosia Selwyn, was**  
**the illegitimate daughter of Artemis Selwyn and Morfin Gaunt. Yes, you have read**  
**that correctly! GAUNT! Your magical family!**

She wondered if Tom would be the kind of person to gape. He gave off a kind of snotty air, so maybe not.

But the revelation of their relation was worth some kind of reaction! It was a shame she didn't even know what he looked like.

 **Lily isn't even a muggleborn. She apparently knew the truth for years and randomly**  
**decided to do something about it now, which is concerning in an of itself. Ironic as**  
**she is super anti-Slytherin and anti-Dark.**

 **She is one of the last descendants of Slytherin, which also makes me one as well!**  
**And she made me the Heiress! Essentially, when you manage to regain a body, IDK**  
**what the hell you're gonna do about this. And what's Voldemort going to do when he**  
**finds out? Some of his followers escaped Azkaban, that inescapable place that people**  
**swear is super protected. He'd gonna find out to and then the hell will unfold. From**  
**what I've read, he doesn't seem like a family man. Being related probably wouldn't**  
**stop him from trying to kill us all.**

She was under no assumption that Voldemort would spare them all once he found out the truth.

Bella did not believe that he was the kind to automatically change after decades of being as he was. Tom changing was more believable as he was still sixteen and he'd been without outside influence for ages.

Voldy though, would still be Dark Lording and doing Dark Lord things.

 **And this has brought up tonnes of questions too! So we're technically related. And**  
**though our relation is less than 6% according to DNA and family lines, would it be**  
**close enough to erect Blood Protections between us? Meaning, did the reason Voldy**  
**lose his body have to do with him trying to kill an innocent family member? 'Cause**  
**I still don't believe I did anything amazing that night no matter what we know of it.**  
**It seems unlikely, and Lily and James both believed Prue was behind it. That tells**  
**me THEY didn't do anything special.**

 **Would Voldy (or you for that matter) be able to contest her Ladyship as you were**  
**technically born way before she was? Morfin's dead so it's just you, me, Prue, Lily,**  
**and Voldy left in the family.**

God, being related to Voldemort sucked!

Though being related to Lily sucked even more. Bella just really didn't like her.

 **Do you think the prophecy still counts in the end? Are family members prophesied**  
**to kill each other often or whatever? You know, outside of the Bible which has a lot**  
**kin slaying kin?**

 **How is this going to affect my relationship with Slytherin House? For the past two**  
**years they've simply known me as the Potter girl who is always gone half the time**  
**because she cares more about some muggle career none of them understand. And**  
**now I'm like the Slytherin of Slytherins and they have to regard me better. Salazar**  
**himself was very excited the moment he learned the news! And he also threatened**  
**to lecture me if I embarrass him.**

 **Do you think things are going to pan out well for Lily? She withheld this for years**  
**and now is suddenly embracing it. Sirius and Remus think it'll backfire. I'm hoping**  
**it will just because I don't want to have to have mandatory meetings with her for**  
**anything. I doubt she even knows what is required of the Head of a House. It isn't**  
**as if she took part in the Potter finances or paperwork or anything.**

 **Anyway, that's all that's been happening as of late. I figured I should get it all out**  
**now and then when you can, you'll respond.**

At least he'd have a lot of time to consider everything she was telling him.

Bella was a good friend.

 **I learned that Prue can also talk to snakes. She'd never been faced with one before**  
**since Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 are so judgmental of anything Slytherin. No surprise that it**  
**is a new development for her, but she doesn't really care. Unlike our sperm and egg**  
**donors, she doesn't care about what House someone is sorted into. And she doesn't**  
**find it to be a reason to pick on someone either, which is great. How she managed to**  
**end up so decent when she was 'raised' by those two, is beyond me. It might be Mrs.**  
**Weasley's interference.**

Mrs. Wealsey was like Prue's personal saviour.

 **You know I'm kinda happy this is out in the open now. It's going to help Hermione's**  
**research a lot. She's already begun looking more deeply into the bloodlines of all the**  
**muggleborns she can think of, convinced that there is more to the story than meets**  
**the eye.**

 **I'll keep you up to date on whatever she finds. She's even more dedicated to learning**  
**about this after Lily's reveal. And it has pushed me to start taking my upcoming look**  
**into Runes seriously. Batman said Spell Creation would be greatly aided by the Study**  
**of Ancient Runes because in Runes we're taught how to search for magical ley lines**  
**and the individual strands of magic that make up every living thing and all enchanted**  
**items in existence. Basically it means there's going to be a lot of work ahead of me.**

 **Knowing how to find and manipulate the lines will apparently lend me considerable**  
**aid in my pursuit of giving Squibs access to their magical cores. And while it seems**  
**like a lot of work, I'm actually excited to get into that kind of thing. It's apparently**  
**some form of Mage Sight that can be trained into a person, unlike True Sight which**  
**one has to be born with. Like my friend Luna. She sees not only the past and future,**  
**but into other realities and planes of existence. She can also see magic if she wants.**

And she could probably give Bella advice on how to improve!

She probably already Saw Bella coming to her for help.

 **I'm going to be keeping your Diary on me at all times just in case you finally get up**  
**the energy to write back. I don't wanna miss a thing you have to say about all this!**  
**I can't tell the rest of my friends because I don't think they'd truly understand just**  
**yet, so you're all I got in this.**

**I hope you start to feel better soon.**

* * *

**LADY POTTER'S SECRET LIFE!**

**THE SECRET LILY POTTER HAS TRIED _so_  DESPERATELY  _to_  HIDE! **

**LILY POTTER! HEIRESS _of_  SLYTHERIN?! **

**THE NEWEST LADY _of the_  GAUNT, BLISHWICK, AND SELWYN FAMILIES _is_  SOMEONE **   
**YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT!**

**JAMES POTTER _is_  MARRIED  _to a_  DARK WITCH! **

**LILY POTTER _is a_  PUREBLOOD DARK WITCH! **

**THE GIRL-WHO-LIVED _a_  LIE FROM _the_  SLYTHERIN HEIR'S MOUTH? **

**HAS OUR COMMUNITY BEEN LEAD ASTRAY _by_  SECRET DARK WITCH LILY POTTER?! **

* * *

The truth had been revealed in its entirety to the masses of Magical Britain and it was not good on Prue's end. Belladonna had the benefit of being in Slytherin where being related to Slytherin would be considered an honour above anything else. Prue didn't have that kind of good fortune because she was in Gryffindor House, Slytherin's natural enemy after centuries of misinformation was passed around to warp people's views of said family.

Prue was also at a disadvantage naturally. While she was crowned the Girl-Who-Lived and had certainly lived her life up until that point pretty much adored by people, she wasn't very outgoing. As such, Prue's only friends were the Weasleys because she didn't feel like she could connect with anyone else in Gryffindor.

The majority of them hadn't even cared that Prue's been sorted to their House. They cared that the Girl-Who-Lived, who was a cultivated mask James and Lily had her live up to for so long, was in their House. Thereby making them more popular by association. But the adoration came at a price of sorts.

Some people that she'd never even spoken to personally, asked for money. Some asked for her to owl order them things. Some asked for her hand in marriage despite the fact that she was literally twelve! Some wanted to use her broom. Some wanted her to 'fake date' them to make other people jealous. Someone tried kissing her without even asking her about it first just because he wanted to be able to say that he kissed the Girl-Who-Lived!

It wasn't something new. She'd just thought it would be more manageable at Hogwarts. Evidently that was not the case.

So with all of this, it was difficult to grow attached to people who didn't want her, they just wanted her fame. And because Prue had formed no emotional connections to anyone else in the school thus far, no one but the Weasleys would stick up for her.

And that was exactly what had happened. Gryffindor went from tolerable to terrible. They did not like Slytherins. They did not like Slytherin families. They did not like Dark Magic. And unfortunately, those three things tended to all be aligned often on the Dark Side of their community, which meant Light Gryffindor families didn't like them.

With her parents literally ruining everything because they just couldn't find it in themselves to be decent parents, whatever good reputation she'd managed to save while they were in prison, was ruined. Prue was literally stuck in the lion's den, and she wasn't much for… fighting. It held no appeal and yet it was something she'd have to deal with.

The morning the official articles were released would be one she would never forget. She'd been sat between Ron and Ginny, with Fred and George across from them on the other side of the table. The owls had descended like usual, and when she caught sight of the headlines, she'd blanched so quickly she'd nearly froze on the spot.

It took less that a minute for the news to circulate and the noise in the Hall rose instantly as students looked between the paper and each other, some casting glances at either Prue or Belladonna.

Prue, not for the first time, found herself loathing Lily. Why couldn't the woman think ahead for once? Did she honestly think things would go well for her children when ¾ of the school literally hated anything to do with Slytherin? Was she really that heartless? Prue had originally thought her to just be a bit selfish but this took it to a whole new level.

It was one thing to be jealous that Prue's hair was nicer and jealous that it grew in faster, and acting out by forcing her to keep it short to make herself feel better was immature. It was another to literally put her children in danger all because she was on some warpath to regain leverage over them when she'd never cared about making use of it while they were growing up.

Prue had never been punished a day in her life and Lily didn't have a part in Belladonna's life, so it was a bit late to try giving a damn. Not that she thought Lily really cared about either of them. Prue couldn't remember a single ' _I love you_ ' from Lily, either in Prue's direction or James'. And it wasn't shocking to say the same about James either. Too busy caring about themselves... so Prue learned to care only about herself too.

Merlin, if this was part of Lily's plan, what the hell was going on in James' corner? He'd been very quiet as of late if she ignored his need to come to her Quidditch games.

"Of course a child of Slytherin would abandon their own kid if they thought they didn't have any magic," was the first thing Prue heard that morning at breakfast. "Lily Potter thought herself too good to be connected to Belladonna Potter and abandoned her."

And then it was, "The abandoned kid came back only to embrace her darker side naturally and literally try to ruin the Potters in return."

"The Potters ruined themselves. How long was James Potter trying to hide this?"

"All along we've been looking up to a bunch of slimy Slytherins!"

"And I thought Prue was a good one! She probably destroyed You-Know-Who so he couldn't challenge her in the future!"

"The prophecy didn't say she wouldn't go on become a Dark Lady herself!"

"A Dark Lady in our House! How long did she think she could hide here?"

"She's probably using us as a distraction! She's got no friends of her own you know!"

"Prue isn't very Gryffindor anyway, it all makes sense! She does nothing with us and never participates in what we like to do!"

"I can't believe I trusted her!"

And on and on it went.

McGonagall speaking up did nothing to stop the rumours spreading. And Prue knew very well that even if she and Belladonna had revealed who the true Girl-Who-Lived was, everything would still be exactly the same. The Girl-Who-Lived was not public enemy #1.

Lily had just slotted herself in beside Voldemort, as one of the people Prue hated most.

* * *

Hermione had been given a lot to consider over the past two weeks. With the revelation of Lily Potter's ancestry, she'd had new information to research.

First it began with the woman's mother and father. A quick search revealed them to both be Squibs. And then Ambrosia Selwyn's mother and father had been near-Squibs thanks to their families dallying far too much in the inbreeding in order to keep themselves pure. Morfin Gaunt was capable of basic magic but he'd never attended Hogwarts. Neither did his sister or their father.

Artemis Selwyn attended Hogwarts until her fifth year where she scraped Acceptables in every one of her O.W.L.s and then stopped attending. By receiving her O.W.L.s she had negated the Ministry's decree to snap the wand of anyone who didn't obtain theirs. She then became a recluse and rarely left her house from what people had learned anyway.

Still, Squibs born to Pureblood families were still Purebloods. They simply couldn't access their magic. And why was that even the case? Inbreeding.

The interesting thing, was that Lily Potter was born to two families that were very famous for it. Despite having never mixed their bloodlines before, she should not have come out as magically stable as she was. Reports and notes stated that she was an exemplary student with no magical restrictions at all. Her grades had always been at the top and her magical prowess was worthy of note by all of her professors. She was also fit and didn't have any deformities.

What was different about her compared to others?

One thing Hermione could tell right from the start. Lily was raised among muggles. She spent her entire childhood without any exposure to magic at all, and everything in her life was created by muggles. Food, medicine, clothing. It was all muggle made.

Did not having a connection to magic save her somehow?

Hermione had been paying a lot more attention to the students from families who inbred too much. Her current focus was Gregory Goyle. The boy could barely manage any kind of magic and his attention span was lacking. His core was weak and his magical output was nothing impressive sadly. His family regularly married two others and that was it. The marriages were always arranged and never happy ones. His own mother was his sister.

The difference between Gregory and Lily was that one was raised among magic. Among people with magic and DNA similar to him. The other was isolated from any kind of magical anything for at least eleven years. At least.

Could the lack of magical surroundings have had an affect on Lily? And where could Hermione find other supposed muggleborns born of Squibs who had magic and were strong?

She was going to be getting her own test done come summer, and then she'd be able to see for herself what was up and what more she could add to her notes. She had a whole book full of observations and theories! Some that seemed preposterous!

But as more and more of the magical world came into the light, she could no longer truly consider those ideas foolish or impossible.

* * *

"Hold it for at least ten seconds! Then take a breath for a minute and repeat."

Bella had been insistent upon mastering the Hydroblade soon because she had one more year before she could join Juniors, and she wouldn't be apart of Juniors for very long. Her unfortunate birthday at the end of July, instead of the very beginning, put her behind. Already, her most direct competition would be going on to Juniors come Autumn, meaning she'd get an extra year of experience in the upper leagues.

Since everyone else in Junior Ladies would have time over her, Bella had been adamant about having skills over  _them_.

The free Y Spin had been finished and by extension, the Y Spiral as well. Not needing a hand to hold her own leg up was beneficial. Especially as her body matured.

Aaliyah had made sure to keep track Bella's growth. So far, Bella had reached 154 cm and 45 kg. Her body was evenly proportioned thanks to alternating her training schedule and not focusing too much on a specific section. A common misconception about figure skating was that only the lower half of the body needed to be trained, but that was not the case. As such, even weight training had to be done.

Bella had wanted to jump right in. Aaliyah could remember how put out she'd been when she couldn't simply lift a dumbbell on the first try. The trial and error had been amusing when she realised not  _everything_  came easy at once.

For physical growth, not much but her height had changed. In comparison to Amara and Hermione, Bella was behind. Or at least she  _appeared_  to be behind. The other two were developing very quickly. Hermione was an entire year older than Bella, and Amara was half a year older. Aaliyah didn't know anything about the girls in Bella's year at school, but she knew what was going to happen because it too had happened to Aaliyah once upon a time.

When young girls did not begin to change as society decreed they should, they became the center of ridicule.

In professions such as figure skating, gymnastics, and even ballet, the body was trained so much that the torsos ended up more muscular than they normally would be, which hindered breast growth. Breasts were essentially fat, and training burned off fat and built up muscle. Bella was going to be flat-chested for quite some time, and those who didn't understand why that was the case, were going to mock her for it.

It wouldn't be pretty.

And it wasn't like breasts were the most important thing in the world, but being made to feel different or inferior for  _anything_  really sucked. Especially for young kids and teens.

Bella liked to act as if she was unaffected by a lot of things, but she could be very emotional. While she wouldn't personally care about not sprouting massive mammaries, she wouldn't take anyone attacking her figure very well. She might even explode in rage and beat the shite out of the offender, but then she'd probably go to her room and cry afterwards.

Now if only the world would stop caring so much about what other people looked like. That would fix the problem easily.

Aaliyah was drawn back into the present as Bella once again fell on another attempt at the Hydroblade. The girl went sliding across the ice on her side and then just laid there, pouting at the ceiling.

"You're doing better!" the long-time coach decided to say in hopes of lightening up the atmosphere of defeat.

"I'm not strong enough yet!"

"Well have you tried doing it with hands? You've not used them once and no hands is the most advanced form of the move!"

Bella gave a dramatic groan and rolled around a bit.

"Everyone starts small, Bella!"

Another groan.

She got up and went for it again, nailing it just fine while using both hands! It was progress, especially since she wasn't leaning  _all_  of her weight onto her hands. They were just there as buffers in a sense.

Every victory meant something no matter how small it seemed.

* * *

§ _ **So I'm sure you've heard all about what's happened,**_ § Bella said, addressing the portrait of her ancestor.

Rarely did she break school rules, because she'd seen no point in doing so. But this was important and there would be no free time to talk to Salazar during school hours unless it was during a Hogsmeade weekend, and even then it wasn't really safe from stragglers who couldn't go.

So she'd taken the Invisibility Cloak and gone to visit the Founder's portrait in the dead of night because it was best to get his opinion on things. And she chose Parseltongue so their discussion could remain private from the other three Founders who were watching intently.

§ _ **I have,**_ § the man nodded. § _ **The gossip has given us much to consider and I'm ashamed at how terribly my name is regarded these days. The lies spread about my family are terrible, and nothing will see them stopped.**_ §

Nothing short of genocide and Bella wasn't in support of that.

§ _ **Nothing in the Chamber would change anything either. It might just make everything worse.**_ §

§ _ **Chamber?**_ § Bella asked, having not heard of any such thing before now.

§ _ **The Chamber of Secrets. Many of my notes are kept in there. As well as my familiar. If she's still alive that is.**_ §

Bella could practically smell an adventure. She wasn't one for exploring but the prospect of finding Salazar's own works was too good to pass up.

§ _ **There are many entrances. One in the Forbidden Forest, one on the second floor, and one from the Slytherin Common Room. If you see a snake etched into a wall or stone, it's usually a hidden passage that will open with Parseltongue. Only Parselmouths can gain access.**_ §

And now Bella was remembering the snake on the stone inside the hearth in the Common Room. She'd simply thought it was a decoration taking the snake theme a bit too far, but now it made sense!

§ _ **Thanks, Sally!**_ §

She left the portrait sputtering in offense at her nickname while she thought of when would be a good time to begin exploration of her Slytherin heritage. And she wondered if Prue would be interested in joining her. Lily could rot for all she cared.

§ _ **Beware!**_ § her ancestor shouted. § _ **My familiar is a Basilisk!**_ §

* * *

"Itty bitty Petey! Where do you think you're going?"

The only reason Bellatrix had even taken him with her was because she knew he was easy to manipulate. The fool, despite being a Gryffindor for literally all seven years of his education, had not a gram of courage in his pathetic body. It was very easy to force him to do whatever she wanted, and what she wanted was to find their Lord.

To do that, he needed to be at hand at all times while she planned. She knew her Lord very well… all she needed to do was find him. He'd trained her personally, had shown her many of his secrets with the fullest of confidence!

One of his sacred places was where he'd be. The sea. The forest. The village. So few places and yet none close to home had been inhabited for some time. If he chose to regain his strength on the mainland, it would be more understandable.

And she knew he was alive. Her Lord couldn't possibly be foiled by a mere child! His Mark was connected to his life force and magic. So long as both remained in the mortal plane, the Marks would too remain. Not that many outside his most loyal would understand that.

The Mark was lighter in colour, showing his weakened state, but once she helped her Lord return to full power, the Mark would darken and his second rise would progress according to plan!

Though… she was fearful of his reaction when she imparted the most recent news upon him. About the Potters. About how the Light loving fools dared think they could control the true Slytherin Lord's family! His wrath would be all-consuming and she could already feel the tingle of his Cruciatus in her veins!

It had been so long since Bellatrix had felt her Lord's power! She wanted it!

Pettigrew was quivering as he looked up at her. All that time spent as a rat had surely deformed his appearance. While he'd never been as tall as she, he was now permanently hunched over and balding because of it. As if staying as a rat would allow him some form of safety.

The rat man whimpered as Bellatrix reached out a bony, long-fingered hand to grab as his shaking arm.

"We have work to be doing, Peter," Bellatrix sang in a breathy voice. "We're taking a trip to Albania. Our Lord so loves the forests and wildlife there."

The coward squeaked in fear, his trembling becoming almost too much to bear.

Raising her stolen wand, Bellatrix knocked him unconscious, simply to avoid dealing with his blubbering. She then created a quick Portkey out of a nearby river stone, and forced his hand onto it. In a matter of seconds, the world around them proceeded to spin uncontrollably, and the familiar feeling of the Portkey overcame her, whisking her off to to the nearest point she could reach on the mainland.

Soon they would be reunited with their Lord. And he would welcome them with open arms and grand titles!

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming to the end of the school year and there is still drama. But maybe some things are looking up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I know a lot of people have complained about Bella's name but just know  
> that I'd planned to call her Fraxinella and Ella for short. Which is honestly  
> worse? 'Dictamnus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae,  
> with a single species, Dictamnus Albus, which has several geographical  
> variants. It is also known as burning bush, dittany, gas plant, and  
> fraxinella.' -Wikipedia.
> 
> -Albus being in the scientific name put me off to it. But it was close!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

The time it took to fully absorb everything the foreign soul piece was, had been far too long for his liking. And the strange load of emotions he found himself struck with the moment the process was officially finished, wasn't pleasant either.

Sure he'd experienced joy, interest, worry, and even fear recently, but he hadn't realized what existing with half a soul would do to him. The Locket's ability to handle emotions had been terrible. From what the soul piece recalled before being sealed inside the heirloom, Voldemort had lost all sense of control and had become rather volatile.

Quick to anger and frustration and much poorer at masking how he truly felt. It seemed as if operating on half a soul had rendered the main piece of the soul, plus all Horcruxes, emotionally unstable and if the emotions weren't unpleasant ones, then they were muted.

So taking in that piece and having to deal with an information overload, as well as a magical and emotional one, had been hell.

Adding on to that, was Bella's letter to him while he'd been meditating.

Here he was, trying to center himself, and his book was warming constantly from her writing over and over. And when he finally got around to reading what she had to say...

How?

Sure he suggested that Lily Potter was related to the Gaunts but he hadn't honestly thought he'd be right!

Still, they had to talk and he was finally sane of mind again.

_Bella?_

**OMG! Tom! How are you feeling? Do you still feel dizzy? Did you puke? Have you**  
**been overcome by Voldy's twisted soul? Should I call Ghostbusters?**

Ah, another one of her jokes he didn't understand.

No matter how much she told him, Tom still comprehended nothing about the present day in the muggle world.

_I'm feeling much better than I was before. The room I'm in is no longer spinning and I_  
_don't feel like I'm on the verge of vomiting every other second. Now I know it wouldn't_  
_happen anyway, considering I'm an incorporeal being, but the feeling isn't one anybody_  
_wants to suffer through._

_I have thoroughly managed to join with the piece from the Locket and have settled the_  
_overload. Despite it being only a few years ahead of when I was created, there was still_  
_a lot to sort through. If I had ignored it, it would have caused me problems later on. So_  
_thank you for giving me the time and space to set things right once more. It's nice that_  
_you were so patient._

She had let him know about what was going on even though he couldn't respond. And she didn't spend however long he'd been silent, demanding a reply from him. Bella, when it mattered, could be the epitome of patience and understanding.

**Was he really that bad when he was still just a teen?**

_Yes. Thankfully, it came with benefits for me personally. While there was some pain and_  
_nausea, it did have a pay off. I've absorbed the rest of my education by now, and have_  
_committed the knowledge to my memory. I've also learned the inner workings, at least_  
_up until Voldemort's 19th birthday, of the Knights of Walpurgis. And I have information_  
_on many of the Knights and their families. Useful information to us should blackmail be_  
_a necessity in the future._

One thing Voldemort had done right was make his followers adore him so much they'd have no problem in sharing personal secrets with him. And should he ever need something done, all he had to do was just allude to something personal and they would fall in line like the dogs they were.

It was amusing. Tom couldn't find it in himself to disagree with the plan of possible action.

He intended to use that information as blackmail himself.

**Wow. And let me guess… you're planning on blackmail at some point. Yes?**

She knew him so well!

_Quite right, dear Bella. When you finally send me off to dearest Xenophon, I'll have_   
_enough to control him with. It'll be quick and easy. Unless you do not want it to be_   
_quick and easy?_

Tom wasn't often one to do things not for himself but Bella was his friend. And she was helping him in the long run, so he would do favours for her because she deserved them.

Anyone else could go hang.

**Eh, if you could maybe fix Theo's problems before the summer holiday ends,  
then do whatever you want with him so long as he dies eventually. I cannot  
find it in myself to care about the well being of a man who's been so utterly**  
**terrible to his own grandchild. He might just be worse than James or Lily at**  
this point and I can't stand any of them.

_Ah yes. You egg donor. A subject we need to discuss in full._

**Yeah. It goes Bella - Lily - Ambrosia - Morfin - Marvolo. And for you it's Tom**  
**\- Merope - Marvolo. So what does that make us exactly? I am so confused by**  
**these things! I looked up all kinds of charts and I got lost! But I do know our**  
**DNA relation for what it's worth!**

Ah, yes. He'd had to construct a family tree of his own just to see for himself.

_I believe second cousins once removed. Depends on what chart you'd use to measure._  
_Some would say first cousins thrice removed. Not a close enough relation to mean much_  
_to even muggles. Not enough to invite to family reunions in Pureblood terms. Marvolo is_  
_my grandfather and is your 2x Great grandfather from a different branch of the Gaunts._  
_Voldemort did not spawn as far as I'm aware so it's just me left in my branch and since_  
_Morfin was older than my mother, you're of the main branch and have more claim to the_  
_Lordship as you are purer in blood than I am and old families like that would have set up_  
_preventative measures so halfbreeds could not gain control of the family._

**Well 1.) that's fucked up. And 2.) that's fucked up. Not like you went and asked**  
**to be created let alone to have a muggle dad. You didn't hold a gun to someone's**  
**head and make them do the horizontal tango!**

**As far as anyone's aware Voldy didn't spawn. Would he even want sex considering**  
**he's so messed up now? Doesn't seem like something he'd be able to enjoy now,**  
**you know?**

_Not that this topic of conversation isn't interesting, but I don't want to consider it. Also,_  
_sexual intercourse is not the only way a child can be created nor is it all that amazing,_  
_I doubt he would care for it especially with how splitting the soul seems to dampen the_  
_senses and emotions to an extent._

**Artificial insemination is pretty damn popular nowadays.**

Every time he tried steering the conversation back to a more normal topic, Bella kept bringing up things he didn't want to talk about with a twelve year old girl. How they always ended up talking about sex, he didn't know, but it was damn awkward.

_Can we return to the prior topic on conversation? Please? And for the record, there are_  
_potions that can do wondrous things even in my time. There are probably more detailed_  
_ones by your time. Just to consider._

**Anyway, back to Lily. She's now Lady Selwyn, Blishwick, and Gaunt.**

It was ever so convenient that while absorbing that soul piece, he'd learned so much information about his followers. This meant he had information on both the Selwyn and Blishwick families and he could very well put such information to good use if he wanted to. But he needed more information in general before he dared to make a move.

_Are the Selwyn and Blishwick families deceased?_

**Um… From what I've seen, the last living relations in either line are currently**  
**stuck with tonnes of lifetime sentences in Azkaban for being Death Munchers.**  
**Multiple accounts of murder against them and no way out of the sentencing.**  
**They were all in Voldy's pocket so now they are suffering for bowing down to**  
**some dude who didn't even bother to claim his Lordship and prove himself.**

_And because of that, your egg donor was able to instead._

**Yeah, it sucks. She's plotting something.**

_Of course she would be. She was very intelligent in school even if some of her current_  
_actions don't make much sense to us. I'm curious to know how she managed to escape_  
_Slytherin because laying low and waiting to strike is a very Slytherin action._

The woman had kept it close to the chest for decades. Had decided not to say anything. And the moment she was released from prison, she didn't immediately jump out and latch onto her children like James Potters seemed to be trying with his other daughter. She'd had bided her time, considered her options, and then went with the plan she apparently thought would benefit her the most in the end.

A Slytherin manoeuvre. Even though they couldn't see what she was envisioning for the future, she'd executed the first part of her plan skillfully.

**She's not the most cunning of people even if she's been sitting on this information**  
**for years. She blurted out random info during her trial last year that effed both she**  
**and James over more than they would have been. I think she was sorted pretty well**  
**at the time. People do change and you can't be re-sorted unless you ask for it. You**  
**can't expect someone to stay the same from the time they were eleven until the time**  
**they graduated. My friend Amara thinks sorting so young is stupid for this reason. It**  
**isn't rare for people to change.**

**Well, normal people anyway. James apparently didn't change at all.**

_Noted. I think now is the best time for you to pay attention to her. Before, you were fine with_  
_ignoring her existence but you cannot get away with that now. I want for you to sit back and_  
_consider all the possible reasons she might have for releasing this information now instead of_  
_later. I want you to talk to Sirius and Aaliyah about it. Hell, pull Prunella aside and talk about_  
_it since she's as trapped as you are. Make sure you are all on the same page going into this._  
_Not all Gryffindors are idiots._

Some had devious streaks of their own, and as Bella said, people changed. Even if they didn't want to admit that they changed or they were too loyal to their House to request a re-sort. Or couldn't afford to be re-sorted for whatever familial reasons holding them back.

**Yeah. Just kinda wished things could have been left alone after the trial. This is too**  
**much to be thinking about. I am supposed to only have to worry about classes and**  
**skating. I don't want to worry for my future on top of that too.**

_Even if I had a body of my own, I wouldn't be able to help you for another year. I'm only recently_  
_turned sixteen in body. If I even end up like that when I am freed from the Diary, she will still have_  
_control over the Gaunt Family until such a time where I can contest her Headship. And even then,_  
_as I am from a side branch of the family now, instead of the main one, and I am not a Pureblood,_  
_my claim might not matter._

**So much drama on the magical side. I'm glad this is basically archaic in the muggle world**  
**by now. None of this crap comes at me from that side of the fence. It's really no wonder I**  
**like it more on that side. There I just have to train and skate.**

_We have long ago established that muggles seem to have advanced in certain areas while wizards_  
_are languishing. No need to rub it in any more than you already have._

While Tom might not utterly hate them any longer, he didn't want to keep hearing about how wonderful muggles were. Especially when his experience pointed to the exact opposite of such a belief.

**Sorry. I like whinging about my problems and the indecencies I'm forced to deal with.**

_As I have come to understand quite well._

**Gee, Tom. Such supportive words for your favourite person in the world.**

_I never admitted to such a thing!_

**You didn't need to, I can tell already.**

_Back on subject, one more thing I wanted to mention was the question in regards to relation._  
_If we are really, only related at 6% at the most, that would never be enough to form a Blood_  
_Protection around you. However, you are from the main branch and Voldemort is of the side_  
_branch. All children in magical families are automatically bound to honour that family at birth._  
_Rejecting them removes the bind though so if they are disowned then they don't have to fall_  
_in line._

_Take your godfather's family. He is of the main branch that is always in control of Headship._  
_Should someone from a side branch attack with intent to kill, magic itself would judge them_  
_harshly. So perhaps Voldemort's body was destroyed because he, a mere Halfblood from a_  
_side branch, dared attack a more pure relation to the blood instead? Blood Protections are_  
_very rare and don't pop up often even between family members._

_This is all supposition of course. We don't know anything about that night except that you_  
_ate the Killing Curse and then spat it back at him._

He had given it much thought and he hadn't come up with any other reasons that seemed plausible. So this would have to do for the time being.

**Magic is so confusing sometimes!**

* * *

"We're gonna need a bigger table."

Both Blaise and Theo shared a look as they found most of the Weasleys, and Prunella Potter, sitting at their preferred table in the library. Ever since the knowledge had been spread throughout the school, the group of Gryffindors could hardly be seen apart save for classes and even then the twins were often skipping to guard the younger lions. The amount of times people had decided to shove Prunella around or try to hex her were unreal.

In the end, it had been a lot worse for Prunella than it had been for Bella.

"Someone I've never even seen before tried cursing me today. Not even a hex, a flat out curse that was meant to mimic lightning strikes," said Prunella the moment Bella's group were close enough to hear her. "Their aim was shite and managed to only hit a wall before I reacted but it was still pretty bad. Sirius raged."

As expected, Hermione was offended instantly. "That's literally attempted murder! Do they have no conscience?"

The redhead huffed and folded her arms on the table. "You forget that Gryffindors tend to get high on their Righteous Horses and look down their nose at anyone who isn't exactly like them. And my true heritage basically slots me below them in their minds. I honestly don't get why people make such big to dos over the Founders' Houses."

A loud scraping noise had them all turning to see Bella pushing one of the other available tables across the floor to align it with her sister's table. Theo moved to help her situate extra chairs around for them to sit at. While doing so, Luna plopped down right beside Prunella and smiled serenely at the ginger.

"I'd love to tell you that things will get better soon, but that'd be a lie. However, if you stay on your own path, and remain true to yourself, you will rise above this and be stronger," the blonde said in an airy tone as she situated her Spectrespecs over her eyes and pulled out this month's edition of  **The Quibbler**.

That had both Theo and Blaise sharing a look of wonder. Not even Luna could determine how long it would take for people to calm down. And the fact that patience was literally the key in the end, wasn't fair.

"This school is full of hypocrites," said Neville. "Hufflepuff seems like the best and on the surface they pretty much are, but like the Founder said, she took the rest, and the rest are all a bit pompous over the fact that they're  _different_  and  _unique_  and don't  _'fit into a mould like the other Houses'_.

Hermione frowned. "That makes no sense. By all of them claiming they don't fit into a mould, they've slotted themselves into their own mould to fit into."

The Hufflepuff shrugged. "They're not really natural leaders. Some are a bit more outgoing than others, and they'll form groups within the House, but the rest just tend to follow along. So long as they aren't the ones being bullied or harrowed, they don't care what they're asked to do. It's kind of why they've joined in on the- you know- the harrowing of Prunella because it's not them being picked on for the time being."

Essentially, Hufflepuff was full of sheep.

Interesting how each of the Hogwarts Houses had a concerning trait that they all fell prey to.

For Gryffindors it was their Pride. And not even in the punny sense with lions and such. Literally, they reveled in self-satisfaction in their own goodness and kindness and it caused them to do terrible things to others in the name of self-righteousness, too certain of their own greatness to look deeper than the surface.

For Ravenclaws it was their Blind Faith. Specifically, Blind Faith in the Pursuit of Knowledge. They were the House of intelligence or so they claimed. And they unanimously believed that everyone among them must absolutely put their all into the pursuit of knowledge and no one could stand out, which was strange seeing as Individuality was supposed to be something they represented. Those who didn't perfectly align with this were outcasted like Luna and Hermione were.

For Hufflepuffs it was their Passive Natures. They didn't necessarily  _want_  to be like everyone else but they wanted to fit in still. And they weren't often confrontational unless they felt moved to be which usually took a lot to convince them of. Such as the attention being shifted from them for the time being, or something terrible calling them to finally get off their arses and do something. Ironic they'd be like that considering they were the House of hard workers.

And finally, Slytherin. Their weakness was their Loyalty. Specifically Loyalty to what history told them their Founder supported. And because of their Loyalty to history's declaration of Salazar Slytherin's intentions, they'd allowed the true nature of their House to be warped beyond reason over the past eon. What Slytherin stood for these days was very close to what the general public believed of them, because the majority were firmly Loyal to their idea of Slytherin.

But history was written by the victors and Slytherin never had a chance with three other Houses against them from the beginning, so whatever they believed of their Founder, was mostly untrue.

Theo doubted that Salazar himself would be able to change their minds and attitudes. When it's practically bred into most of them from birth over centuries of time, there seemed to be no point in trying.

Hogwarts needed reinvention more than anything.

Maybe they should have let each of the Founders' Portraits to be placed with their individual Houses all for the sake of the confronting each House properly?

* * *

So because Lily had gone and pulled her super secret move, Prue and Bella, as well as their collective guardians, had to present themselves to Gringotts about their upcoming legal requirements as new Heiresses. Requirements would mean custody arrangements would have to be changed to allow whatever Lily legally required for heir Heiresses. It sucked.

"There's no way out of this?" Bella had asked the moment they all met up in McGonagall's office before leaving for Gringotts.

Sirius had responded with a negative. "Remus double-checked the laws and we cannot interfere with the training of an Heir. This meeting is basically a formality to let everyone know in person, what could have been said on parchment."

Prue wasn't stupid though. She also knew it was a way for Lily to wag her fingers in the faces of the other adults who'd kept her from accessing her children to an extent. As if to mock them because she thought she'd one-upped them somehow with this move.

All Prue had seen so far was the epic slander of anything Potter related in the media. It wasn't going good. Already, Sirius had had to put his name and wealth on people's necks to get them to heel even just a bit. Slandering minors was tricky when The Reporter's Golden Rule was considered, but there were still loopholes to use on either side, and with Rita Skeeter's help, he knew very well how to manipulate those loopholes to stop the attacks on his goddaughters.

The Reporter's Golden Rule basically protected the reporter's right to say whatever they want. But anyone had that right, so it wasn't that important. But there were loopholes in that simple rule that could be easily broken or misinterpreted.

For instance, sometimes reporters were forced to write something by another party. The Ministry often interfered when they wanted something specific spread to the public. Didn't matter the nature of the information. In this case, if any legal action was taken up against the reporter for what they said, they could reveal the Ministry's hand in it and all blame would fall to the Ministry as well as the legal troubles.

People were legally allowed to speak their minds. That didn't save them from the consequences of their actions however.

So one could sue for defamation of character if they worded their reason properly. It had to be handled where you weren't attacking the right to speak and instead the results of that person's speech. It was all ridiculous and backwards and made no sense to a lot of people outside of the limelight, but Prue got it. She had to.

A lot of people were effectively silenced legally when it came to Prue and Bella, but that didn't mean they had to stop dragging Lily's name through the mud. And they were still doing it weeks later.

So there they all were, sat in the meeting room at Gringotts. A line of chairs set up for each of them across from the Goblin in charge.

Aaliyah Michaels, Bella, Sirius, Prue, Mrs. Weasley, and then Lily. Basically, keeping the children away from her as much as they could given the situation.

The Goblin had started with the Gaunt business first. "Because the last Gaunt to accept Lordship, Marvolo Gaunt, ignored his duties to the title and squandered what little funds were left, the Gaunt family is in disrepair. Gringotts has seized all former properties to pay for late fees that have accumulated. If you don't want the Gaunt family to disappear off the registry altogether, you will need to each provide the line with a child before your sixtieth winter, and will also be expected to donate a percentage of your own funds to the main vault. These are the prerequisites set in place from centuries ago that every claimed Gaunt must adhere to or else Magic will judge them harshly and punish them."

How in the hell was that fair? Why were they being punished for what their great(however many greats was in that list) grandfather and his ancestors had and hadn't done?

The Goblin looked at Lily. "As you claimed Ladyship  _after_  birthing two children for the Potter family, you are also expected to give birth to another child to give the Gaunt line a greater chance to be reborn. You are still under sixty and that means you are most likely fertile. Marriage is not required to have the expected child in question, but the partner must at least be a Halfblood. Muggleborns and muggles are expressly forbidden or you lose the Ladyship to your Heiress."

And of course the woman wouldn't dare lose that now that she'd gotten it. Perhaps they could trick her into bearing a child from a muggleborn so Bella could take over?

"The only items left in the Gaunt vault are a few books and weapons. One book has the entire history of the family and you are all expected to learn it on your own time."

The parchment the Goblin was reading from, was set aside. "Now for the Blishwick family. The last living members besides yourselves are Adelaide and Armando Blishwick. Both were tried and found guilty of terrorism as Death Eaters and have been in prison for the past twenty-six years. They have been sentenced to life in Azkaban and cannot contest your Ladyship of their House.

"As this line is also endangered, you are each required to birth a child for the family before you reach fifty-five summers. No marriage is required for this one either, and the father cannot be a muggleborn or a muggle."

It just got worse and worse. Their bodies were being treated like baby-making factories!

He then went on to the Selwyn family and the requirements were basically the same. In total they each had to have at least three kids to take up position in each family. Not to mention their former expectations as the Potter and Black Heiresses.

Did Prue mention how much she hated people? Specifically green-eyed, cocksure ones who couldn't leave well enough alone!

The meeting didn't get any better after that. Times had to be renegotiated so Prue and Bella could both begin to learn about their families so they could pass on their knowledge to their eventual spawn.

It wasn't fair that a significant part of their futures were basically supposed to be focused on childbearing. It was like the only use Lily had for them. She didn't actually care about them or family or wanting to have a loving family with them. She just wanted control over them. And more.

In the end, her own daughters were just tools meant for her to use until she didn't need them anymore. But she'd still keep them around just so she could keep them away from anyone else.

And even if they acted out, it would mean nothing. Lily wouldn't disown them for anything because that would be losing the control she so craved.

It was literally a death trap for Prue and Bella, and Lily couldn't even bother to try and gild it a bit to make it seem unassuming or more appealing.

And neither Prue or Bella could get out of it by running away or rejecting the family because the Head of the family had to agree for the person to be struck from the family altogether, and Lily would never do that.

* * *

"So she can basically do almost anything but make marriage contracts for you both?" was Hermione's very first question once Bella explained what she personally knew to be going on.

Bella nodded. "So Prue actually had to explain this to me. Because we are both now the Heiresses to more than one family, and different guardians are in control of those families, none of them can write up a marriage contract for either of us, which is like the best part of this whole thing. It could be considered interference in another family's Heir's future and a law was passed some times ago to put a stop to it to avoid lawsuits."

It was so convoluted and made no sense to Hermione! "We need to make a better laws about these things because they honestly make no bloody sense! Who came up with these laws to begin with?"

None of her friends seemed to have an answer and they all just shrugged.

Magical Britain seemed to be more and more beyond aid the more she learned about the way things were handled. The fact that they managed to maintain some form of casual existence in the middle of such a mess was astonishing.

"If you can come up with something better, and more easy to understand, people will eventually come to agree with you," said Luna, her gaze firmly planted on the ceiling while she attempted to balance a Hippogriff quill on her nose. "People are by nature, very lazy, and if you make it easier to deal with, they'll agree even if they don't like you."

So that was basically Luna telling her that she'd manage to fix it someday, but it would take time for her to find the right answer. Success, even if it was half a century down the line, was still success.

It felt like every time she turned around, new things were being piled into her plate. Like she didn't have enough time to focus on everything she wanted to focus on.

If only there was a method of time-travel available so all her extra work could get handled.

"Okay, so the final thing that I'm worried about it whether or not Lily Potter can interfere with your training and competitions."

Bella froze in her seat, and the temperature surrounding their table lowered dangerously. She was out of her seat in a flash and no doubt headed for Professor Black's quarters.

Hermione looked to Luna for help, but the blonde merely sighed and continued to balance her quill.

"She can't possibly override both Sirius and Aaliyah, right? It's one against two in this case!" Hermione asked Blaise seeing as he was also well-learned in these sorts of topics.

The dark-skinned boy didn't look very confident as he said, "I don't think so?"

Theo shook his head. "There's loopholes to everything. I'm sure if she words things right, she'll probably be able to claim Heirship duties or some such tripe just to get Bella further under her thumb. And she didn't want Prunella doing Quidditch at all if what the girl's told us is true. So she just might be able to do more than we think. Or she might not have that power at all. Generally, things tend to get worse before they get better though so don't get your hopes up."

Damn.

* * *

"Would you care to inform me as to why all of you seem to have gone mad over the revelation of Salazar's descendants?"

The questions came from none other than Godric Gryffindor's portrait, and everyone standing in the vicinity went quiet instantly at the sound of his voice. And right at the very back of the crowd was none other than Ronald Weasley, who had gone to the kitchens for some extra food to bring up to his best mate while she was too wary to leave the Common Room.

Ron wasn't the most mature kid in the world. He knew it and usually didn't care. But the last week or so had proven to him that he was far more mature than most of his Housemates. Sometimes he picked on others, and made jokes here and there, but it wasn't like he attacked anyone or went around complaining about how evil Slytherins were.

His best mate was related to the Slytherin family. She'd gone her whole life until now not knowing about it, and her mum had been lying to her dad about it. Ron could see that it wasn't Prue's fault that she was related to Slytherin. He'd known her his entire life. The bad things people said about Slytherins did not match Prue's character.

Now he'd never met a decent Slytherin before Belladonna Potter came along, but his parents had told him once that school prejudices weren't going to help him later on in life. And that he should judge based on his own experiences instead of what people told him. After all, Sirius Black was from a family primarily sorted into Slytherin and he didn't side with You-Know-Who. And his husband was a Werewolf and he wasn't a bad person either.

For the most part Ron minded his own business and didn't feel the need to interact with others outside his House because they didn't interact with him.

That was until the people in his house went bloody bonkers!

And it was over the fact that Prue was related to Slytherin! There were actual important things going on, like their end of the year exams! But everyone wanted to complain about Slytherins? It was just so stupid to him!

Ron hadn't expected Gryffindor himself to say anything. The portrait had simply sat there and watched what was going on for the past few weeks. Only Ravenclaw had spoken up so far.

But there he was, finally saying something, and Ron was caught between wanting to get his bag full of sweets up to the tower, and staying around to listen.

The converging students told him that it would be best to stay. Some older Gryffindors were closer to the front and from how they'd been acting lately, Ron wasn't certain they'd tell the truth to the rest of their House. If they even bothered to at all. They might even try to pretend that nothing happened.

"You and Slytherin were enemies!" said one of the Gryffindors.

"No we weren't."

"Maybe not when your portraits were made but you became enemies!" another insisted.

Godric shook his head. "Salazar's portrait was created just before he left. Mine was created many years after that. The supposed argument between us had nothing to do with Mundanes or the children born of them. It wasn't even an argument that started between us. It was my daughter against his son that started this supposed feud."

It was so silent that if a pin dropped, everyone would hear it. Godric's words had left them all properly confused because how had the story changed then?

Helga stepped into Godric's frame and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. He spared her a small grin, his great red beard wiggling slightly from the action, but it wasn't a grin of joy. And her expression spoke only of understanding.

"My daughter accused Salazar's son of illicit behaviour. I refused to hear his side of the story and simply punished him most severely. Salazar did not like that and told me that I was too brash and prideful, to be a true leader of this school if I couldn't exercise correct measures involved in handling possible rule-breaking. Admittedly, I ignored the many steps required out of anger on the behalf of my child.

"I told him he had no right to question my equal authority and his son deserved what he got, and he turned away. We didn't find out until a few days later that he'd taken himself and his entire family out of Hogwarts, citing in a last letter that we couldn't be trusted to comport ourselves properly. He hid his location from us and we couldn't find him. And I went years before learning that my daughter had lied to me, because Salazar's son wouldn't help her with a experiment she was working on. And because it was immoral in nature, and he knew about it, she tried to silence him in the best way she could without committing murder. She blamed him and left enough evidence to implicate him."

Godric shook his head, looking the perfect picture of morose. "I had never been more disappointed in myself. Back then punishments were far different than they are now and Salazar's son had been left incapable of walking and required the assistance of a Healer. Helga was the one to see to him."

Hufflepuff nodded, the great bun her hair was pulled into looking like a bright, blonde halo above her head. "Rarely were punishments necessary at the time. We didn't often have children who broke the rules. And most understood why they couldn't and knew of the consequences. Sigeweard Slytherin had been a quiet but studious child who was actually Sorted into Ravenclaw with Godric's daughter Guinevere. Both were curious about everything and tended to spend too much time in the Hall of Records which you now call the library.

"This ridiculous hatred for anything Slytherin started because certain students knew that Salazar was distrustful of Mundanes, and for good reason! They killed anything that didn't fall into their view of normal. Oftentimes their own children that they mistook for witches. If a child was too intelligent, they were called a witch and were killed. If a child grew too quickly, they were deemed a demon and killed. If a child did not look as they were supposed to in the eyes of their church, they were killed. Salazar and I did not trust them and wanted to remove all magical children from their Mundane families and strip the families of their memories. Rowena and Godric disagreed."

Slytherin and  _Hufflepuff_  wanted to remove magical children from their muggle families? If it was just Slytherin, Ron would have totally believed it after everything he'd heard of them and witnessed himself, but Hufflepuff too?

"Some sent their children in hopes of their children either converting other students to their ways, or ordering their children to find a way to release the protections on the castle so the Mundanes may launch an assault and burn us all. We wanted to see that stop entirely. So some students, knowing of our opposing views, decided that Salazar and Godric must have argued about it again and that we forced Salazar to leave. No matter what any of us said, they wouldn't listen."

"That is what truly happened," said Godric's portrait. "So I don't understand why you care so much about who is related to Salazar. And I'm ashamed of how you're treating your own Housemate. Most of our children were not Sorted into our own Houses and none of us were so immature as to be angry over that fact."

Ron hurried away then, taking the nearest shortcut he could so he'd make it to the Common Room before anyone else did. He had to tell everyone before someone tried interfering!

* * *

Bella, as planned, got to take the rest of her GCSEs in order to free up her schedule for the coming year.

Figure skating was going to become more important and she needed as little distractions as possible. Since her workload at Hogwarts was increasing with the upcoming term, she had to formulate a new training schedule.

Also, Batman had put in a request with the Department of Mysteries, to get her a Time-Turner. Such a thing had been mentioned before but she hadn't wanted to put her hopes into it. But it seemed like both he and Sirius wanted to help out as much as they could and the letter B-Man had received requested him, Sirius, Aaliyah, and Bella to meet up with a member of the DoM in B-Man's office to discuss it.

Basically, the person was going to determine if Bella's need of the Time-Turned come the new term, was actually necessary.

So she was sat between both the guardians that she liked, at a table conjured up by Batman. Batman was to their left and the Ministry worker was across from them.

"My name is Artemisia Goldstein. I'm a Senior Engineer who specialises in all items related to the Time Room. We are going to discuss why you think we should loan you a Time-Turner for the 2013-2014 school year."

Artemesia wasn't very old. Or at least she didn't look it. But since magical people aged more slowly than muggles, Bella couldn't be certain.

The woman held up a clipboard and fixed her glasses. "Ms. Potter-Michaels, why do you believe you need to time-travel to achieve your goals?"

Bella had been putting much thought into this and already knew what to say. "I have a job as a competitive figure skater that we've been working my schedule around. I've been training for nearly six years. I already knew what I wanted to do with my life when I was younger and hadn't planned on attending Hogwarts at all when I learned about it. I was sure of what I wanted, but then I learned I would lose my Healing ability if my magic got sealed, so I had to come.

"I'm a lot more invested in the magical community now. I have concerns over certain laws and practices that seem rather barbaric and too far behind the times of the modern world."

She was being generous with her words because she had a much more unpleasant way of saying all this but had to remember that this was necessary to her success.

"Figures skaters are only competitive for a short amount of time. Ladies usually retire from competitive skating before they turn 25. As a witch I will age much more slowly than my fellow competitors will, and my Healing ability lowers risk of detrimental injuries that would see me removed from the sport entirely. I will not be able to last for too much longer without raising suspicions though. I might make it to age 32/34 before having to bow out gracefully to keep people unaware of my double life. But thirty-four years for muggles versus thirty-four years for magicals is vastly different. I'll have at least a century left and I  _will_  need to do something."

"And you have determined what you wish to pursue on the magical side?" asked Artemisia as she wrote down things on her clipboard. In pen, Bella should add.

"Yes. I've decided I'm going to find out how to give Squibs access to their magic, meaning I will be taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."

The Ministry worker paused in her writing and looked up. Her gaze was shrewd. "You truly believe you can accomplish such a thing?"

"Yes," Bella said with full confidence. "My other Twice-Blessed ability has to do with my aptitude. Generally if I work toward something I'll eventually become good at it. Some things are automatic and some take time. I have no doubt that I will figure out a way to fix this issue in my lifetime. Doing so would be a lot easier if I had even more time on my hands."

Snape held out a file to the woman, his face stony. "She remains at an Acceptable level in at least all of her classes. Her Aptitude is influenced by her interest in the subject. Those with an O grade are her favourite classes. She excels in Defence, Potions, and Transfiguration which are arguably the most vital in her education."

Artemisia looked over the file. "Her control has been noted to be an issue in Charms."

Bella flushed. Even now she was still overpowering her spells in that class. No longer setting fire to desks, but it wasn't much better.

"She generally has the spell mastered by the end of class or the beginning of the next one, it simply takes a lot of effort for her to get it down because she has so much magic. She tends to overpower her spells and in Charms that isn't as welcomed as it is in Defence or Transfiguration. It should also be noted that she was still finishing off her muggle education at the same time."

"Hm. I can see why you're in Slytheirn if you have all these plans for your future set up. You do physical training on the ice every other day. How much do you lift?"

She was shocked that the knew about muggle workouts. Magical people didn't really exercise.

"About 20 kg each arm. I can usually do two sets of ten reps before I need to take a breath."

That got her a whistle of amazement. "You're determined to see this through no matter what?"

"Yes."

Artemisia's dark eyes stared her down. "We will grant you the use of a Time-Turner."

_YES_!

"But there  _are_  stipulations involved," the woman continued seriously. "You will be given a 24 Hour Time-Turner. The most it can turn back is  _only_  24 hours. You need to be aware that your body will age from exposure. It won't be much of course, but your body will physically reach its majority at 17, before your official seventeenth birthday. If you go back 12 hours every single school day during the upcoming school year, you will age an additional 140 days. Multiply that by the remaining years of schooling you have left if you stay until your seventh year, and you get 700 days. That is nearly two years."

That was very beneficial! "Would that come up in official blood tests like at Gringotts?"

"Yes. Your body and magical core will be aging together so the results will change on all official documentation no matter your actual date of birth."

Wow. Hermione was going to flip her lid at this!

"The stipulations will be that you improve your grades in your other classes while maintaining the grades you have in your best classes. You must obtain at least Exceeds Expectations in your two new classes as well. You will essentially be in two places at once and you cannot allow your other self to catch sight of you. Meddling with time is a tricky business and we don't want to have to deal with the disaster should you mess up. You are more mature than children often are at your age, so we are placing a lot of faith in you and your guardians. You must do them and us proud."

"Yes, Ms. Goldstein."

"Then I wish you luck. You will be presented with the Time-Turner on your first night back come 1 September."

* * *

**Amara,**

**I am so stressed! We took all of our end of the year exams and I'm certain**  
**I mixed up the dates in some of my answers for History of Magic! But a lot**  
**happened in such a short amount of time during those wars and it's ever so**  
**easy to confuse dates and names. So. Many. Goblin. Names!**

**Anyway, my parents have agreed to stop by right after getting off the train**  
**in order to pick up Crookshanks. Is that okay with you or should we wait a**  
**while longer for him to grow up a bit more?**

**On the side, don't tell anyone, but Bella and I are being granted access to a**  
**couple Time Turners for the following term! Our meetings were at different**  
**times and with different people but we were both approved! I'm so excited!**  
**I'll be taking all the available classes so I will need the time on my side. I'll**  
**need to know everything I can get my hands on so I can form a proper plan**  
**to fix Magical Britain.**

**Wish me luck. Not just for that but also my research. This revelation of who**  
**Bella is truly related to has given me a lot to consider. Lily Potter isn't what**  
**I would peg more inbred people to be. You know? She's a lot more together**  
**than most in Slytherin House. But what's the difference between them?**

**I intend to find out.**

**How've you been doing? Bella said you also finished your GCSEs lately. It'll**  
**give you more time to do other things. Like raising Kneazles. I also thought**  
**about introducing Crookshanks to Aoife. Maybe they'll get on and we'll get**  
**a litter out of them!**

**Hoping you're well,**  
**Hermione.**

* * *

"How suckish is it that I get my period on the day we all go back home to have a fun summer?" Bella murmured to Luna as they boarded the train.

The blonde smiled. "I got mine too."

"Me too," Hermione chimed in.

"I feel like this is some cosmic mojo or something," said Bella in wonder. "The power of three and all that shite."

Hermione assumed her lecture pose while placing her bag on the floor. "Three is actually a very magically powerful number according to Arithmancy and it is right behind the number 7, which is considered the number of perfection. That's why so many magical things come in sevens or are done in sevens. Like our school years for example. Or many magical romance series. Or the fact that families don't use the same name for children in the line past the seventh time."

Tom had talked about sevens a lot. He had a lot of faith in the number.

She sighed, suddenly missing him. But it had to be done.

* * *

Theo looked up from his plate. The summer holiday had begun and as usual, he was forced to take breakfast with his grandfather every bloody morning. And as usual, it was just darkness, silence, and anxiety mounting and he waited for the impending ball to drop. Because never did breakfast simply go over well between them. The dining room was all marble and dark curtains, and he hated the dreary atmosphere.

But something different had happened this morning. Xenophon had received mail, which never happened as far as Theo was aware, because no one wanted to talk to the old man. Yet a package was hand delivered to him by one of the House Elves, who said it had been thoroughly checked for curses and it was found to be perfectly safe. Though if it was cursed by an outside force, it wouldn't have been allowed through the wards of their manor to begin with.

Xenophon had decided to open the box right at the table, his sour face rigid as stone and just as expressionless.

Until…

The man's eyes went wide as he retrieved what appeared to be a book. It was black and looked to be made of good leather, with gold shapes curved around the edges.

And Xenophon was looking at it as if it held all the answers to the universe within its pages.

"You will proceed to the training room after breakfast and work on your stamina. Do not come out until lunch and do not bother me for the rest of the day."

He was gone seconds later, the book clenched tightly between his shaking hands.

Theo didn't know the importance of the book, but he was grateful for its interruption to his usual routine. If he was lucky, his grandfather wouldn't come to train him at all for the rest of the day.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS. ^-^


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scheming out the ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I regret nothing.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**It is 29 June 2013.**

And so begins Tom's genius plan. He could already feel the soul and magic of the person writing in his book. They were Dark and felt almost too much. If he hadn't acquainted himself with Voldemort's twisted soul piece already, he might have found himself ill again.

Bella was Grey and her home lacked any magic at all. The very sudden exposure to only Dark Magic once again was enough to leaving him light-headed despite the fact that he shouldn't be able to feel like that at all thanks to being trapped in the Diary.

Interesting how his core had always been Dark and yet he'd gotten used to Bella's Grey magic so easily.

_Hello. My name is Tom Riddle. May I ask how you came by my diary?_

It was always best to start off innocently. To appear as if he was harmless and not something to worry over. And it would also lead Xenophon into a false sense of security.

**My Lord, it's me, Xenophon Nott. How are you inside the book?**

Of course it was Xenophon, he had known that already. Bella had promised that she'd send him to the man in exchange for him sucking out Xenophon's soul and making him suffer for what he was doing to his grandson. Tom had been very proud of how accepting Bella was over the situation and how ruthless she was in seeking revenge on behalf of her friend. It was things like that which proved how good of a friend she was.

Tom already had a plan in mind for handling that as well. He just needed his Knight to lower his guard some more and then the hold would take. And he'd always known Xeno to have a weak will against Tom's own magic and desires.

_Dark Magic, Xenophon. I was researching in my 5th year and found some interesting_   
_rituals. I reside here to further Lord Voldemort's purpose. Last I heard, I was in the_   
_hands of Abraxas Malfoy, so I do not know how I came to be with you. I am not so_   
_please he has tossed me aside however, and don't know why._

**Neither do I, my Lord. You came in the post from an unfamiliar owl. Abraxas**   
**passed away years ago and his son Lucius is Lord Malfoy now.**

Ah, yes. Xenophon and Abraxas hadn't gotten on well in their youth because the Nott and Malfoy families were competitive over who was more pure. As the Notts were older it was technically them, but the Malfoys refused to let the argument die. As such, Xenophon would do anything to throw a Malfoy under the proverbial Knight Bus.

He was  _that_  immature.

_Perhaps he was ashamed of having one of the Dark Lord's possessions in his home?_   
_To think one of Abraxas' blood would disrespect me so terribly. I haven't been this_   
_offended in quite some time._

**My Lord, I will guard your diary for you if it pleases you!**

And just like that, he'd gotten his way with little effort. Xenophon must have been floundering without direction for so long. Being on his own and without anyone to guide him must have been terrible. Xeno had always been more of a follower than a leader.

Tom could feel the distinct tint of the man's emotions. Xenophon was excited at the thought of being useful to Lord Voldemort. He was practically drowning in longing. For what, Tom didn't know, but it was so obvious it was painfully embarrassing.

That anyone, Pureblood or not, would fall this far just for someone's approval, was pathetic. But useful for Tom's plans int he long run, so he'd take what he would get.

_Such devotion, Xenophon. It is no wonder that you were always my favourite among_   
_our schoolmates._

**Thank you, my Lord!**

Such a good dog. Tom would have to remember that even the slightest bit of praise went a long way with this one.

* * *

"Now girls, according to the history of the Gaunts, we are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin through his son Sigeweard. He married a young woman named Wylierin. No surname on record."

In all honesty, Lily was learning all of this at the same time as the girls. She simply didn't want to let them know that. It was best to appear all-knowing in any situation one could manage. And if the amount of confidence she had was high enough, she could get away with it easily.

"How did it go from being Slytherin to being Gaunt?" asked Belladonna, looking confused. "Family lines make no sense in the magical world."

"If you let me speak I would have  _gotten_  to that," was Lily's sharp response. She hated interruptions.

"It was just a question, chill out."

"Don't backsass me, Belladonna."

Prue huffed and rolled her eyes. "It was literally  _just_  a question. You're overreacting like usual. You even went quiet for nine seconds before she even asked so it wasn't like you were interrupted or anything."

" _Excuse me_?" Since when did Prue become such a mouthy little brat? Lily surely didn't raise her to be like this! It had to be James' poor influence on her that made her so aggravating to deal with.

"You overreact to  _everything_ ," Prue insisted, shoving away from the table. "All the damn time! You and James act more like kids than we do! It's even more annoying now that I'm older!"

Lily got to her feet as well. "Don't you walk away from me, young lady!"

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Belladonna demanded then, proving that being raised by a muggle hadn't done her any good if she too was a mouthy little brat. "You've never punished her before, nor did you bother to raise me, so what makes you think we're just going to up and listen to whatever you say when we've been given no reason to respect you as an individual like alone a parental figure?"

"If you want to stay involved in your beloved sports, you will sit down or else."

Lily was reasonably certain she could make it so neither could continue their useless quests for something that wouldn't matter in the end. Sports weren't a necessity to the human race or life in general. There was no point in them. The girls would be taking up more important duties as soon as possible and their precious professions would simply get in the way.

Prue stomped back to the table, showing that nasty attitude that she picked up from James. Lily was disgusted. There had to be a way to being both girls to heel. They'd been left to do as they pleased for too long.

* * *

When Theodore stepped through the Floo and into Blaise's home, he had been confused. And hopeful. And ashamed that he was so bloody hopeful. A Slytherin shouldn't be so emotional, he tried to tell himself. He needed to calm down and think rationally.

His grandfather had told him that he would be spending the rest of his summer with the Zabinis. That was great for Theodore because it meant fun and friends and no pain of any kind. It was also suspicious because his grandfather had been acting strange ever since that book came in the post. He hadn't even spoken to Theo himself, and had ordered a House Elf to inform him of his summer plans. And then he'd been packed up and sent out with haste.

Blaise and his mum were there to greet him when the flames died down, both looking pleased to see him. Either because they liked him or because he wasn't hurt this time, or maybe both reasons at once. It was still nice to be welcomed.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked the Zabini Lady, hoping she might have an explanation for the very sudden shift in his grandfather's tone. Nothing like this had ever happened before and it made no sense when he considered the man's character.

She held up a sheaf of parchment covered in a myriad of words and underlined sentences. "Your grandfather requested that I formally take you in as a ward of House Zabini. In exchange I will receive a monthly stipend for you being under my guardianship from now until you turn seventeen. He did not explain any further and simply had his Account Manager set this up between us. I saw the opportunity and took it. I hope you don't mind."

He certainly didn't, he just didn't understand why this was necessary  _now_. He would have never wanted to do this before, so why now?

"Is Xenophon in good health?" the woman decided to ask, to which Theo had to shrug.

"He didn't look ill. Regretfully he looked the same as always." Meaning perfect health and no chance of croaking at any time in the near future to free Theo from his confining and painful prison of never-ending expectations.

"Well  _I'm_  not going to argue. As your official guardian now, I will be signing your permission slip for Hogsmeade. Your Head of House will be notified. There is paperwork to file through. No Dark Magic while I'm not around and you may be left to your own devices, is that clear?"

Both boys nodded.

She turned and left with a swish of her mauve, ruffled skirts.

Turning his attention to Blaise, he asked, "Did you get an invitation to Bella's birthday party?"

"Yeah. Since you'll be staying with us from now on, you get to come too. Bella has all these plans for her birthday and it's been negotiated that Black and Michaels get her for the odd years and the Potters get her for the even years."

Theo was going to visit the muggle world for the first time in his life. If his grandfather knew of these plans, he'd be horrified. It was a good thing that suddenly he wasn't Theo's guardian any longer.

"Hermione was telling me about it. We're apparently going to a muggle theme park and then having a sleepover. Neville is allowed to attend. Luna will be going too. Bella's Squib friend as well. And maybe the Weasley kids and Prunella. Depends on what their schedule will allow or not."

And it wouldn't be anything like the stuffy Pureblood parties they had to sit through since it was Bella and her muggle guardian doing the planning. Theo hated going to balls and this would mean no dress robes!

This summer was actually going to be great for once.

* * *

Hermione had decided she wanted to get this work out of the way as soon as she could. Her entire summer was going to be filled with research and studying to prepare her for the next school term as well as to further along her plans to fix Magical Britain. She didn't have enough time on her hands, but thankfully she would be getting a Time-Turner in the coming school year and she'd be able to split up her study time more evenly as well as spend more time with her friends. It was going to be great!

Her parents had agreed to come to Gringotts with her, despite not fully understanding why it was necessary since she was almost fourteen and could be trusted to go places by herself now. She often took a cab to The Leaky Cauldron in order to get more books. She was trusted very well considering what other parents didn't allow their children to do.

Still, she took up her saved money and brought them in with her because she had a very strong feeling and wanted to know if she was right. Best to have them with her just in case.

The Blood Test done by Goblin specifics required a potion that she could have made on her own, but didn't have the ability of acquiring all the ingredients for it, nor did she have the time on her hands. Also, Goblins tended to have better potioneers than magical humans did, so it was simply best to spend the twenty Galleons to get a more thorough history of her DNA. Especially if it bore fruit in the results.

The Goblin assigned to help them was named Gorchrasch and he remained frowning the entire time he pulled out a blank sheaf of parchment and a bottle bearing a blood red liquid. The bottle was opened in order to drop some of the potion onto the parchment, and the potion sank within leaving no proof it had even existed. He then handed the rest to Hermione. "They are magically connected now. Ingest that and the details will appear on the parchment."

Hermione slugged back the potion as quickly as she could so she wouldn't have to focus on the flavour. And it was a good plan since it tasted terrible and caused her skin to prickle with goose-flesh!

Still, after shivering in disgust for several seconds, the potion finally seemed to activate. Red writing began to fill up the page from the center, where her name rested, extending up like the limbs of a tree.

Gorchrasch turned the parchment around so she may look at it. He then called upon another Goblin to fetch him the Dagworth-Granger Account Manager.

Hermione was too busy staring at the miniature family tree to care.

> **Magical Paternal Line:**
> 
> Hermione Granger _(1999 - Halfblood Witch)_  - William Granger _(1974 - Halfblood Squib)_  - Henry Dagworth-Granger _(1934 - Pureblood Squib)_  - Alsonci Dagworth-Granger _(1901 - Pureblood Wizard)_  - Formildahide Dagworth-Granger _(1868 - Pureblood Witch)_  - Hector Dagworth-Granger _(1831 - Pureblood Warlock)_.
> 
> **Magical Maternal Line:**
> 
> Hermione Granger _(1999 - Halfblood Witch)_  - Helen Smith _(1973 - Halfblood Squib)_  - Salome Smith _(1937 - Pureblood Witch)_  - Judah Smith _(1899 - Pureblood Wizard)_  - Hepzibah Smith _(1851 - Pureblood Witch)_.

Hermione was a Halfblood at the very least from Pureblood Squibs who had married muggles and eventually produced magical offspring.

Hepzibah Smith was known very well in the magical community. Her family dated back to Hufflepuff and they were said to be the last descendants of Hufflepuff. There was a Zacharias Smith in Hufflepuff right now who liked to brag about his ancestry. He was an only child.

Hepzibah had given birth to many children as far as people were aware. It wasn't public knowledge what happened to all of them, but some assumed death in Grindelwald's war to be the case for many. Apparently not in Hermione's case.

"You are related to the Dagworth-Grangers and the Smiths. As the last Dagworth-Granger, you will most likely be accepted as Heiress, meaning we can unfreeze the account. Squibs cannot assume Lord or Ladyship of the Dagworth-Granger line unfortunately so you will have to wait until your majority or magical emancipation before assuming Ladyship. As for the Smiths, we would have to contact Lady Smith who is the Head of the family, and consider what must be done."

The day in Diagon Alley had gotten even longer.

* * *

Ah! Quidditch! If only it could solve all the problems in the world. Prue would simply throw herself into the sport and focus on absolutely nothing else.

The Championship game was coming up. The Cannons had once again managed to make it to the final. She wasn't shocked since the entire team had literally improved over the course of the last year and a half. She was proud to say they'd manage just fine without her around. Maybe not final-worthy skill but they'd never fall past the middle of the ladder in future seasons.

And the members truly needed to start believing in themselves more.

Confidence could go a long way.

* * *

"I fear that Voldemort may be mobilising sooner than we imagined he could," said Albus without a hint of remorse for how the name made Severus flinch.

"And what, perhaps, do you expect us to be able to do about it?" the Slytherin demanded through clenched teeth as he gripped his marked forearm that twinged. "Bellatrix is off gallivanting the globe in search of him and eventually she will find him and who knows what they'll get up to together."

"This is why we need to train Prunella Potter up! Lily has finally agreed with me! She intends to have Prunella trained in preparation for this."

Severus felt as if all intelligence had been sucked out to the legendary wizard and shoved right into Severus' brain in that moment. "We both know how foolish that is. Prunella Potter shows no interest in classwork or fighting people in general. She is not her parents, Albus, and she will not simply do as she is told, let alone by someone she does not respect. Meaning none of us would make her see sense. She also has three other guardians that might not take your scheming too well should they find out."

"They have no need to," said Albus, assured him as he reached for his bowl of Sherbet Lemons. "It is Prue's duty."

"And when she refuses to live up to this duty you want her to uphold so dearly, then what?" Would Albus truly resort of Imperius just to defeat the Dark Lord?

What was he thinking? Of course Albus would. The road to hell was paved with good intentions and Albus' chosen road was the most fine around, and for good reason. He was willing to do anything to get what he wanted.

How the man avoided Slytherin was astonishing.

"Prunella will be made to understand in time."

Until he opened his mouth of course.

* * *

Bella stared down at the early birthday gift she'd gotten from Tom. It was an unassuming black book, much larger than the last one. And the pages were lined, thankfully. He'd somehow gotten his hands on a normal notebook! His small note had just been to write in it and his own enchanted book would let him know she was contacting him and then he could write back.

Xenophon Nott wasn't dead yet, but Tom had promised it would happen eventually. Whatever he was doing that needed the man to stay alive, had to be important.

She cracked open the notebook and began writing.

**Hey, Tom! How is everything going on your end? Make any progress? Thanks**   
**for the book btw! I love it and I love that my words are going to actually come**   
**out straight and even instead of practically falling down the page like a mess!**

_Hello, Bella. I'm glad you liked your gift. It was rather easy to assume total control over_   
_Xenophon. He too is not all that sane and his will power is very weak. I will not be killing_   
_him for some time, but I have already made a move to help your friend. Theodore Nott_   
_is now a permanent ward of the Zabini family until he reaches his majority. That should_   
_make him very happy._

**That's awesome! Thanks, Tom.**

That was a very sweet thing for him to do. And he'd done it without any prompting from Bella. Bella had simply asked for Xenophon to die but this was even better because it gave Theo something he needed!

Security.

_My pleasure. I'm unhappy with how he had to grow up thanks to my other self's actions_   
_influencing Xeno this much. No child should ever have to go through what that boy has_   
_gone through._

True. Voldy's shite teachings influenced his followers too damn much.

She could only imagine what his other followers did to their children. God, what if Malfoy was being forced to do similar things to Theo? What about Parkinson? She didn't even like the girl but it wouldn't surprise her!

Now she was feeling a little bad for her fellow Slytherins and their potentially dangerous living conditions with their no doubt crappy families.

**It is great that we can still talk to each other because I have been doing a lot**   
**of thinking and you're a practitioner of Dark Magic and you've seen things so**   
**I wanted to get your advice because I'm not so sure what I should do. I know**   
**what I want to do but I'm not sure it's a good idea, you know?**

_Advice on what?_

Alright. Deep breath.

**Okay. So I am Heiress Blishwick and Gaunt. Each family is dying out and all the**   
**free members have to provide at least one child for that line specifically. So for**   
**the Gaunts it has to happen before I turn 60 and then for Blishwick, I have to do**   
**it before I turn 55. There is no known way around these requirements either.**

_That's ridiculous._

**IKR! Anyway, Lily is not exempt because when she went and had us, we were**   
**solely for the Potter line. She needs to have kids for all these new families as**   
**well, and I do not think she has planned well enough because magical people**   
**have problems getting pregnant despite odds being higher than muggles. Lily**   
**is also 53. Born in 1960. She has only a year and a half to fulfill the Blishwick**   
**requirement and if she doesn't, I become Lady by default though I would not**   
**be emancipated and wouldn't be allowed certain privileges. Still, it would do**   
**us a world of good by removing her influence over us in one way if we can.**

_I will never cease to be amazed by the convoluted planning of the Purebloods._

Yeah, the magical world was effed up six way to Monday.

**The children cannot be from muggleborn or muggle fathers either.**

_Understandable. Probably the most sane decision actually. Considering their beliefs, it_   
_makes the most sense for them._

**So I need your help. Prue and I have considered tricking her into sleeping with**   
**a muggle in hopes of her getting preggo and then when the child's born and the**   
**truth is revealed, she will not have time for another pregnancy before her 55th**   
**birthday, so she'll lose that Ladyship to me. Or…**

_Yeeeees?_

And here was where her desires took a turn.

**Do you know some kind of curse or ritual that can make someone barren?**

_Wow. I would have never expected you to ask me something like that. What you are_   
_asking for is a very Dark Ritual, Bella. One rarely used if ever._

**I know, but if it'll strip away the control she has over us, I am willing to do it.**   
**I don't want to be forced to live my life to the beat of her drum. She does not**   
**care about us at all. Not enough to bother parenting either of us. But now she**   
**suddenly wants her children? If she has more kids, she won't love them either**   
**and they'll just be more dolls for her to use when it pleases her. We need her**   
**to lose Ladyship! Once both Prue and I obtain our Ladyships, we can cast her**   
**out of the families as a whole!**

It was vital to their continued happiness that Lily utterly fail in her planning.

And it was make her into a laughing stock.

_I do understand your point, Bella, and I'm not judging you either. It's just so difficult for_   
_me to remember sometimes, the kind of person you are. You are mature and immature_   
_at the same time. Dark and Light. Your magic is Grey and you seem to align mostly in_   
_the middle instead of taking extreme sides. It is difficult to remember that you can be_   
_just as vicious as me sometimes because you're so nice._

**I am a Slytherin and we are willing to do whatever we can to achieve our ends.**   
**Originally I assumed that it only applied to my desire to go down in history as a**   
**figure skater of ultimate renown and enviable ability, but the more I think about**   
**it, the more I realise that I am truly suited for Slytherin above all other Hogwarts**   
**Houses. Because I will tear someone down if they get in the way of what I deem**   
**to be important. And if they try to harm me, they'll surely learn very well why they**   
**shouldn't have tried.**

Bella held no pleasant feelings for Lily. There was no connection between them. No love or familial obligations weighing Bella down. If Lily croaked tomorrow, Bella would literally not give a damn.

_You continue to impress me even a year later, dear Bella. I in fact, know of many Rituals_   
_that would work, though I would suggest getting someone else to perform them because_   
_if you act against your own family member, especially the Head of your House, magic would_   
_probably judge you severely._

**Thank you. I don't know who I'd get to do it, but I would do anything.**

_I will do it. Though it will technically be Xenophon's body and magic doing it. But what you_   
_need to do first, is get me some of her hair, blood, and skin. All three can be very useful in_   
_many types of potions, but the one needed for the ritual I'm imagining requires all three. It_   
_won't be easy to acquire them either, so fair warning. Half the difficulty of getting all of the_   
_ingredients._

Bella could do that.

**Thanks, Tom. You're the best! When would you need them because I have one of**   
**those Heir meetings coming up and will be stuck sitting for tea and shite with her**   
**alongside Prue.**

_Preferably before the next full moon. Magic, rituals especially, are always powerful under a_   
_full moon._

**Will do. I'll tell Prue. She'll want in and with two of us working, we might be able to**   
**distract her.**

_I wish you luck. You will need it._

* * *

Bella's birthday came a lot faster than she expected it to, but it was still nice to celebrate with her friends. And since it was also Prue's birthday, she'd invited the younger(by like ten minutes) girl over along with the Weasleys who wanted to come.

The plan was simple with the help of Sirius getting a Portkey for them to use. And Bella learned very quickly that all forms of magical travel were basically terrible and she should stop hoping for anything better.

Blaise and Theo came by early that morning, through the Floo. Amara and Hermione had been dropped off by Amara's parents. Neville and Luna joined them just before dinner, and the Weasleys showed up at the literal door ten after noon.

Fred and George, along with Prue, Ron, and Ginny.

"What exactly are we doing?" Prue asked the moment things calmed down a bit.

Bella beamed. "Amusement park. You're all about to get the full on muggle experience for entertainment!" She couldn't wait to force Blaise and Theo onto a roller coaster. "Aaliyah, Mr. and Mrs. Singh, Sirius, and Remus will be chaperoning us to keep us all safe of course."

* * *

The day at the park ended up being the best! It was a mix between having actual fun and then watching the reactions of people who've never been to the muggle world before, doing muggle things. Magicals had Quidditch basically, but nothing else really in terms of entertainment. Muggles had bowling, theatre, arcades, amusement parks, skating rinks, and the like. A lot to do.

All kinds of stuff to do for a good time. Blaise did not handle the roller coaster very well, but Theo ended up loving it. The twins took a shine to the Haunted House and were found whispering together when they came out, about ideas for their future shop. Luna was really good at the various stalls of games available to play. Her aim was impeccable and she walked away with everything she could stuff in her magically expanded handbag. Neville liked the zoo above everything else. Prue preferred the ferris wheel and went on four times in a row. Ronald was more interested in the food than anything, and Ginny was really into the carousel. Blaise preferred slow-moving rides and games instead.

Finally, the large group had dinner in one of the on site restaurants where Bella got to watch her friends all experience the most unhealthy muggle foods the world had to offer.

It was great.

The following sleepover was even better as they all basically stayed up the entire night watching films instead of sleeping. If there was one good thing about her deciding to go to Hogwarts, it was that she'd gotten such a large group of friends out of it.

* * *

"Head, shoulders, knees, toes, ice! In that order!" Aaliyah commanded.

Bella sighed but went ahead and did as she was told. Aaliyah could understand her frustration over having to do it now and then, but it was always good to bring one back to their roots. And one of the first things skaters learned was balance on their blades.

The point of the exercise was to help the skater in question obtain balance. Hands touch the head, then the shoulders, then the knees, then the toes but only by squatting, and finally the ice. The skater was not supposed to emulate a simple toe touch by bending over. That wasn't the point of this exercise. Though another exercise  _did_  call for testing how limber the skater was by seeing if they could bend down and lay hands flat on the ice.

"Reverse it!"

And the entire process was then done in reverse, Bella standing from her crouch easily and showing no strain in her muscles. Aaliyah was most concerned about the knees with the bending and jarring impact from landing Jumps, but Bella didn't  _seem_  to be in pain. Her pain tolerance was ridiculously high though.

Knees were always a very important part of the body in figure skating. One must always be careful and mindful of their knees.

"Lift your left leg up as if you're doing a standing I Spin."

The teen groaned. "I'm not as limber on that side."

"And that's why you're going to work on it," said Aaliyah with no hesitation. Bella was like the typical right-sided individual and needed to get into the habit of training both sides equally, even if she trained to specifically complete Jumps and Spins in a particular direction. Versatility wasn't wrong.

Bella managed to lift her leg, with assistance of her hand, into a Y position, but she could not hold it with her leg alone, like she could on her right side. That showed a lack in her training, which would have to be remedied.

No mistake that it was an impressive accomplishment, but Aaliyah was a firm believer in both sides being equally strong and capable. So the right side, for an Ambidextrous girl, should not be stronger than the left. They should be equal.

"Perhaps we should put you back into yoga?"

"Please no. I didn't like it. I'll do ballet again before I do yoga."

The instructor had been a bit... much. Someone'd who'd never even left Britain but liked to think themself the absolute authority on all things yoga. Not the best class Bella had ever partaken of.

"Noted."

A return to ballet it was.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Prue felt the need to ask, because she'd never taken part in something illegal before. And it was obvious that what was going on was illegal in the worst of ways. But it would also keep them from being enslaved so was it truly evil? They were sitting in the back of the incredibly crowded and smoky Leaky Cauldron, contemplating ruining their blood mother's life.

"It's for our futures. She can't be allowed to maintain control over us," Bella murmured lowly, looking dead serious and much older than she really was. "I don't want to kill her. In fact, I want to never have to deal with her again if I can. This is the best way I could think of of to save us both from a shite future under her thumb, and we technically won't be doing the hard work in the end. I have a friend who will do it for us to save us from magical judgment."

Prue was still a bit skeptical, but she handed over Lily's old hairbrush anyway. "It doesn't need to be recent hair, right? I had to stay with James last week and I just went into their old room and took it. He isn't handling the separation well. He liked her, but she ended up being a big liar the whole time, but they fought my whole childhood so you'd think he'd be glad to be rid of her but he's just been drinking nonstop. I had to stay in Wales for a week with him and all he did was drink himself into oblivion and whinge about how she left him."

Though to be fair, at least he wasn't going around charming Bludgers at her and bothering her at her last few Quidditch games. Maybe imbibing alcohol was actually better for the both of them in the end.

Bella winced in sympathy. "Glad I didn't get raised alongside you. That shite is ridiculous." Both shared a look of aggravation. "And no," Bella continued, "it just has to be her hair. Now how the buggering fuck are we getting her blood and skin? We can't harm her to get them or else magic might punish us, so what do we do?"

"Pay someone to hit her in the back with some kind of cutting spell?" Prue suggested with a confused shrug. It was the only option she could think of where the chance would be available.

"It would have to be a decently aimed one so it doesn't kill her. We aren't aiming for death here. We're aiming for removing her ability to bare children so she can't control us. Vastly different concepts with vastly different consequences. And we'd need someone who can control themselves too."

Right. Well they both had a lot of money and paying someone off would be easy. And attacks hadn't happened in Diagon Alley since the war. No one would expect it during their required day out together for 'bonding' or some shite. It would probably leave people confused for a few moments.

"I can ask my friend if he knows of anyone willing to pretend attempted murder for a few thousand Galleons," Bella offered, pulling out a black book from her bag that Prue hadn't even questioned her bringing that afternoon. "Magically connected so we can chat over long distances. He's a genius and knows how to handle this stuff."

She wrote a few things with a purple, muggle pen and nodded and whatever was written back.

"He does and he's going to contact them. She's not a very well liked person on the Dark side of the divide, and many would take up the opportunity to bring her down a bit. Probably for free, but if there  _is_  a price, wanna go halfsies?"

Prue nodded. It only seemed fair since both of their futures were at risk here. Paying half and half for their autonomy seemed worth it.

A few moments later, Bella slammed the book shut and shoved it in her bag. "Okay. He will meet us in Knockturn Alley in ten minutes. Specifically Borgin and Burkes. It's a good thing you came disguised, huh?" she said, gesturing to the hat Prue had worn which was a gift from Fred and George which could literally disguise someone's appearance by flipping everything about it. So instead of bright hair and eyes, they had darkened. And instead of her super tanned skin, she was more pale now. Kind of washed out. And she'd coupled the look with a pair of muggle sunglasses just so the public couldn't tell who she was.

Damn. They were really doing this. Putting a hit of a sort on their birth mother. She was kind of excited and felt like she'd swallowed an entire litter of Flutterminz in the process.

The twins got up from their table in the back of the Leaky Cauldron and headed out into the alley. Bella was dressed more like a witch than a muggle, in full on black on black robes. Anything non-wizarding stood out and drew attention. They'd been trusted to go to Diagon Alley themselves and really couldn't risk getting caught now of all time, so no additional attention was to be drawn to them.

Both managed to stride into a small side alley that lead into Knockturn Alley very easily and without any attention being focused on them.

"You got your wand, right?" Bella asked in a low whisper.

"Yeah." Even if she wasn't legally allowed to use it outside of school yet, she would if she had to. They could always lie and say they got lost among the crowd and panicked.

The street was far narrower than even Diagon, which was a feat she couldn't comprehend. Much darker and less clean. No stalls. Not lights. It was very gloomy and the buildings seemed to lean forward even more in order to block out what little sunlight London received.

Bella pointed ahead of them. "There. A dude by the description I was given is standing inside the shop."

Indeed, a man was stood inside Borgin and Burkes. His eyes were different colours, blue and green. His hair was matted and filthy. She didn't know if the black was natural or just dirt that he didn't bother to wash off. He looked the very definition of shady. Of course he would be a hitman.

" _You're_  my clients?" the man demanded, voice gravelly and full of shock.

"Yes," said Bella sternly, holding up a privacy ward she'd gotten for their birthday from Remus, as her business-like attitude set in. "I've been told by a good friend that you'd be willing to help us. We need to create a situation that will allow us to get samples of our blood mother's blood and skin without personally attacking her ourselves. We can't think of any other way to do it. We don't need her dead, just a sudden enough attack to leave her heavily bleeding and possibly unable to interfere as we extract some of the ingredients from her. And leaving her alive would be more detrimental to her in the long run, trust me."

The man's eyebrows rose in shock. "Planning something Dark, ladies?"

"Perhaps," Bella smirked.

Prue was very uncomfortable and just decided to let Bella lead. She was the eldest between them after all. She would know what to do and how to act.

"Just a good curse while she's unaware? That's all?"

"Yes. My sister knows her schedule when she visits the alley. She can tell you when would be the best time to surprise her."

And that was Prue's turn to speak, which she hastened through as quickly and concisely as possible.

By the end of the meeting, the man had a down-payment of 500 Galleons, with a promise of the remaining 500 to come once he did the deed.

Prue felt dirty and relieved all at once. This was a good reason, she told herself. It was necessary.

* * *

> **Silas MarinerG:**  Hey! I got a cat just like your Aoife! She's super fluffy like a mini lion and I named  
> her Bob!
> 
> **BP2M:**  Cool! What does she look like?
> 
> **Silar MarinerG:**  Kind of muddy red if that makes sense. With bright golden eyes. She owns me and  
> knows it.
> 
> **BP2M:**  Aw! :)

Cats and magical cats were the next best pet alongside snakes. And because Bella couldn't get a snake because of stupid school rules, she made do with Aoife. But Aoife was a good feline so it was fine.

> **Brah Fam:**  What was that thing you were doing a  **4:16**? I don't think I've seen that before.
> 
> **BP2M:**  That was me attempting the Cantilever. Not many people do it, but I really want to and can't  
> take defeat well. So I'm going to get one day! When my core muscles are stronger!

She'd been working extra hard on all the moves she was desperate to accomplish before Juniors! The Cantilever was a tad more difficult that even the Hydroblade, meaning Bella had a hell of a time getting it down. It was like no matter how many work outs she did, she still wasn't strong enough.

It was becoming frustrating!

> **Naruto's_Bitch:**  Hey so you watch anime at all?
> 
> **BP2M:**  Not really. I don't have time to watch the telly a lot anyway. You have any suggestions I  
> might be into?
> 
> **Naruto's_Bitch:**  Naruto.

She probably should have picked that up from the name.

> **Pip3rPip3r:**  I went ice skating for the first time yesterday and I hurt everywhere even though  
> I was literally just clinging to the wall the whole time! How you do it?
> 
> **BP2M:**  Practice. Lots and lots of practice for years. I started really young and just got myself  
> used to it. Also, despite it not seeming like much, using skates takes a lot of control and you  
> were using muscles you don't usually use, even for that short amount of time. It happens to  
> everyone when they start. I would get easier if you keep going back for more. Hope you had  
> fun! ^-^
> 
> **Pip3rPip3r:**  Oh I did! I might try to do more later on though. But it was fun.

It was always nice to learn people were getting personally invested in her sport of choice.

> **I'm_A_A_Diva:**  I've been keeping tabs on that Lewis girl and she's going into Juniors this  
> coming season. You'll be joining the season after right?
> 
> **BP2M:**  Yep. My birthday falls in an awkward place for me. But I have chosen to look at the  
> bright side! This is giving me more time to perfect what I already know.

Bella had drilled this into her own mind multiple times!

> **Molly McStoughinz:**  Do you have a Twitter acc? I was looking but I only found several stan  
> accounts.
> 
> **BP2M:**  No, sorry. I don't even have a mobile phone yet. I personally don't think I'm ready  
> for that kind of social media yet. My actions there would reflect on the National Ice Skating  
> Association so I would have to be mindful of everything I say or do and that's just too much  
> stress right now. I promise when I finally get an account there, I will mention it in my vlog  
> for everyone.
> 
> **Molly McStoughinz:**  K. Thanks!

Members of NISA or any ice skating governing body really, had to be careful what they said and did on social media. There were actual rules to follow and everything. Bella didn't feel ready for that yet, so she wasn't getting into it until truly necessary.

> **#1BadRomance Stan:**  What kind of music are you listening to?
> 
> **BP2M:**  tbh if it isn't classical, cuz you kno, routines & stuff, I don't listen 2 anything else.  
> We don't even put the radio on.
> 
> **#1BadRomance Stan:**  You should totally listen to Lady Gaga when you have the chance! I  
> imagine you doing routines to her songs all the time!
> 
> **BP2M:**  I'll check her music out.

* * *

**LILY GAUNT(FORMERLY POTTER) ATTACKED _in_  DIAGON ALLEY!**

While on a family outing with her Heiresses, Prunella Potter and Belladonna Potter, Lily  
Gaunt was randomly struck down outside of Gringotts! No one saw the attacker or even  
has an inkling as to why they didn't try to finish the woman off, but there has been much  
speculation that it was a Death Eater who managed to evade capture and lost the chance  
to follow up with a final attack once the people converged.

It wouldn't be too unthinkable as both Prunella and Belladonna were right there as well  
and were nearly struck by the curse too. This isn't the first time Death Eater has tried to  
avenge their fallen master, if I may call your attention back to Hogwarts' former DADA  
Professor Quirinus Quirrell back in 2012. He had attacked the Girl-Who-Lived to make  
up for what his deceased master failed to do.

As of this moment, Lily Gaunt is in St. Mungo's for the foreseeable future and no news  
of her conditions has been shared with us. Her ex-husband, Lord James Potter, was not  
available for comment. Neither of her children were allowed to make a comment either  
by order of their godfather, Lord Black.

As always, we will work to keep you updated with the juiciest details in the lives of our  
local celebrities!

_Mordred Spinster,_   
_Witch Weekly correspondent._

* * *

**I sent the ingredients to Theo's house. You should be getting them in the post soon.**   
**Thanks for all your help, Tom.**

Tom couldn't even begin to describe how proud he was!

_You've helped me as well so I'd say I owed you a few favours._

Only Bella of course. Tom wouldn't care enough about anyone else. And it was a very good thing that he'd decided to take his time with disposing of Xenophon. All this extra work he'd planned to work for paid off even more now.

**Maybe a few.**

_You weren't supposed to agree with me!_

**But who else is gonna keep you in line?**

_There is no line for me to be kept in I will have you know._

It wasn't as if Tom required a minder. He was not the thirteen year old in this friendship!

**Pfft!**

_There isn't!_

**If you want to go with that, sure!**

_If anyone should be kept in line it's a thirteen year old._

**I am very mature for my age!**

_Sometimes._

**Oh go bugger a dragon.**

She'd basically proved his point.

* * *

Tom was possessing Xenophon's body, so in all technical mumbo jumbo, Xeno would be blamed for this if Tom cared about passing blame off of course. And he was perfectly fine with either of them taking the blame because there would be no ramifications for Tom for doing the ritual. Xeno might not come away unscathed of course.

It was a Dark Ritual and that meant it was right up Xeno's alley. He had the core that was compatible with such a ritual and it would be easier to manipulate his body into doing everything properly compared to a Light Wizard.

Magicals were taught from a young age to guard everything about themselves because  _anything_  could be used in a potion. Blood, sweat, tears, skin, nails, hair, teeth, and of course organs. And getting one's hands on any of those from their enemy would spell bag luck for the victim. Those raised in the magical world knew to be very careful, those not raised in the magical world would be less concerned or understanding.

Lily Gaunt-Blishwick-Selwyn would probably no longer be a member of such families by the end of the week if the ritual was performed correctly. No way would the twins allow her to even share the same space as them nor would they let her benefit from her blood connection to them. They would strip her of all her connections and leave her wallowing in filth and solitude.

Each offering was placed upon the altar. It was so convenient that Nott Manor had ritual chambers in which to do this. Being from a wealthy, Pureblood family was beneficial so much in the current climate.

The full moon shone through the various windows, illuminating the otherwise dark room.

The cauldron of choice was massive and reached Xeno's hips. It required a lot of space for such small ingredients the potion involved required.

The base was the blood of an imperfect lamb and a bit of unicorn horn shavings. Unicorns did not like impure beings and purity was based upon their honesty and genuine kindness. Lily was not someone Tom would consider to be honest or kind. At least now. However she was years ago meant nothing in present time. The magic of the unicorn would take umbrage to her essence and curse it, which was necessary.

He added a branch of Elder that was slowly burning with blue fiendfyre. The fire was not snuffed out when it touched the mixture within the cauldron. Lily's blood, hair, and skin were added them, turning the potion black instantly. He stirred with a golden rod thrice clockwise and then seven times counterclockwise. The pattern was repeatedly ten times.

An addition of the bone from an Inferius, plus Xeno's own blood as additional payment.

The potion looked toxic and gave off acrid, purple fumes.

On the altar, was a photo of Lily that he'd taken from one of the many history books published in the last decade. He'd written her true name on the back before the ritual had started.

The photo was added to the mixture and then the chanting began, causing the potion to glitter with each clockwise stir. It was so beneficial to know something like Greek, which enhanced ritual magic.

This kind of curse would never be broken and Xenophon would suffer a loss of years off his own life for daring to perform it, not that Tom cared. Bella would be thrilled he was certain.

The potion soaked into the photo, warping the black and white into brighter colours. And the still lit Elder branch merely burned low and slow beneath it. The fumes rose high into the air and swirled around.

It was so nice to finally feel magic again! And being able to do this with Bella's blessing made it all the better.

Ruining Lily's life for trying to ruin Bella's, was a beautiful sort of revenge!

"May the accursed witch of choice never darken the world with her spawn ever again. So mote it be!"

* * *

"Prue, dear, something in the post for you!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the back door of the house.

"Be right back," Prue called as she ran toward the house, effectively leaving Ron and Ginny to defend themselves from the twins in a 'water balloon war'. Said ideas had been acquired in their visit to the muggle world and they'd yet to get over them.

Mrs. Weasley was holding out what looked to be an official Gringotts letter, a pinched look of worry on her face.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

Prue plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table and tore open the letter, hoping beyond all hope that it wasn't bad news. She didn't want any more bad news for the rest of her life. Things were already not okay and with Voldemort still existing somewhere, the potential to become worse in different ways was really up there. She didn't need another reason to hate life.

**Dear Heiress Potter-Selwyn,**

**It has come to our attention that the Lady of the Selwyn family, your direct**   
**Head of House, has lost her ability to bear children. Effectively, this renders**   
**her incapable of fulfilling the requirements of a Lady of the House of Selwyn.**   
**As such, this leaves you as the newly appointed Lady of House Selwyn, with**   
**restrictions.**

**You can't remove anything from the family vault until your majority or you**   
**obtain magical emancipation. You can't cast votes on behalf of the Selwyn**   
**family until your majority or you obtain magical emancipation. You cannot**   
**take control of the Selwyn stocks until your majority or you obtain magical**   
**emancipation. You can't sign marriage contracts for other members of the**   
**family until your majority or you obtain magical emancipation. Within few**   
**limits of course.**

**You are allowed to appoint a new Heiress to the family. You are allowed**   
**to magically disown a member of the family. You are allowed to wear the**   
**Ladyship ring. You are allowed to sign your name as Lady Selwyn should**   
**you so desire to or be required to.**

**Any questions can be sent to me personally, and I'll endeavour to assist**   
**to.**

**With respect,**   
**Richriodache, Selwyn Account Manager.**

Wow.

It worked.

Prue's guilt vanished as she realised that this meant Lily literally couldn't forbid Quidditch like she'd been hinting at. And she couldn't force Prue into whatever kind of training she wanted Prue to take up. And she couldn't force Bella to leave her muggle guardian like she said she could.

Losing her Ladyships would basically render her useless. And if they kicked her out of the families, she'd have no name or house to live in. Even though she was Pureblooded, few would want her when she had nothing to offer in the end. She might just get stuck with a muggle if she even decided to pursue romance once again.

James wouldn't take her back. Not with all the whinging he'd been doing about her.

They were free. Prue felt lighter than air for the first time in months.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third Year takes off!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I actually had to split this chapter in two. I kept adding more but it never  
> felt like it was enough. Finally, I got to 13K in and just decided to split it up  
> and this half is 8K words, while the other half is at 7K right now. Plus I was  
> already writing the next chapter entirely so after Ch. 30 I have two extras  
> waiting to be posted and it's great!
> 
> -Great props to @tagloff on Tumblr for being a dear and helping me do the  
> math for all of Bella's time-traveling woes! They spent 2 hours helping me  
> figure out the exact date and times for Bella's 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th,  
> b-days! And they did all of this before going to work!
> 
> -My school did a Merit system where money got awarded at the end of the  
> school year. It was a bit stingy though so I made it better in this fic.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Something's wrong."

Lily blinked at the medi-witch. "What do you mean something is wrong?  _What_  is wrong? I was declared perfectly healthy last night!"

The other woman fiddled with her clipboard and looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else in the world but here. Lily didn't give a damn. She wanted to know what the hell was wrong and why they hadn't picked up on it before now!

"The tests we took all came back fine yesterday. You had returned to perfect health and we were just keeping you overnight just to be absolutely certain. We do a mandatory check up before each patient leaves just in case we missed something, and urge them to come back for another check up a week after going home just to be sure."

" _What. Is. Wrong_?" Lily demanded quietly, but with force.

"Your tests are showing that you're... barren."

What? How? She'd been noted as perfectly fertile just yesterday! She'd already formed her plans for the future and how she would repopulate her new Houses!

"What the hell happened?!"

"I-I don't know! You'll have to stay longer so we can try and determine if the tests missed something or if this is a sudden thing!" the medi-witch stammered, looking ready to cry from how intense Lily's anger was.

As if  _she_  had reason to cry!

Lily had put so much thought into this! She'd weighed all of her options and had decided that this was the best method for her to have a comfortable future. And the only thing she had to do was get pregnant a few times no matter how much she had to do it to make it happen! It was worth it if she wanted to spend the next century in peace and comfort.

And now all those plans were gone. If she didn't give birth to at least one child in the next two years, Belladonna would assume Ladyship of the Blishwick family. And if she didn't manage to have children before she turned sixty, both girls would get Ladyship of the remaining two families by default!

How could this happen to her?! She'd been nothing but a decent person her entire life and now all she was getting was punishment left, right, and center when she'd tried her hardest at everything she put her efforts into!

Lily had always done the best she could for herself so why did the universe feel like putting such horrible strain on her! She wasn't a Death Eater which meant that she wasn't pure evil! Therefore, there was no reason for her to be so unfortunate. It made no sense!

"Is there any way to fix it?" she demanded of the woman.

"I don't know," was the quiet reply. "It- it doesn't look very good."

How did someone good and kind like Lily get this kind of treatment when horrible people like Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater Extraordinaire and literal racist scum of the Earth, got out of a lifetime prison sentence for literally murdering and torturing people? Where was the justice in the world?

* * *

Educating himself on the current events was a lot easier without having to rely on Bella as his informant. He liked Bella more than he'd ever liked anyone, it was just simply more efficient this way because there were things she didn't like or care enough about to look into. Tom needed to know about everything he could get his hands on before just stepping out into this new life he was working on creating for himself.

Already, he'd used Xenophon to open a new vault at Gringotts for him, with a password only he and Xenophon would know according to the Goblins. And he'd ordered all manner of tomes for self-study. One problem Light and Dark families had, was that they only purchased books from people of the same magical core and beliefs as them. How was Tom to know everything if he only read up on half of the divide? If he ended up with the wrong information he would look like the fool in the end.

Despite very obviously being a Dark Wizard, Tom could admit that there were flaws in both sides. Half of the time he'd only said certain things just to get his acquaintances to shut up. That didn't mean he didn't consider them a bunch of  _'inbred twats'_ , as Bella called them. It was not an incorrect analysis after all.

Already he'd read through everything he find in Xeno's records on how Voldemort handled things. And it was a damn mess.

His plans made sense in the early sixties. His followers slowly taking over the individual places in the government as well as rearing their children for the exact same duties once they were old enough to take them up. And then the seventies happened, and the raids began, and just a bunch of pointless deaths happened.

When did Voldemort go from thinking Dark Purebloods were uninformed fools to seemingly kissing their arses? Where did the criticism he'd originally had for everything they stood for, go? How could he just simply ignore everything they'd thought in school and go along with whatever the fools wanted?

He learned about the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's group that was basically the Light version of the Death Eaters. Even down to the unexpected raids on supposed evil families suspected of following Voldemort's regime. Half of the time they were entirely wrong apparently, and the other half there was never enough proof to make their actions excusable by Light standards.

And he was not blind to the fact that all the Dark families the Order had targeted had all been Slytherin oriented only.

Dumbledore liked to act as if he cared about inter-House unity and rubbish of that nature, but he was the least unifying of any Headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen. How his infinite wisdom told that the way he handled the school was good, Tom couldn't understand.

Then again, he'd been a Slytherin and got to watch Dumbledore in action even back then. He truly hadn't changed all that much judging by how he acted and treated Gryffindor students now compared to all the others.

The paperwork to enroll a new student into Durmstrang as a late transfer had already been started. And it was a ridiculous amount of work to go through. First, Tom found that he could not enter Sixth year without having sat for O.W.L.s prior to that. And he could not sit them any time soon. In fact, he might have to attend the latter term of the following school year as a Fifth Year and take them then.

It wouldn't be much. He'd just finished his own O.W.L.s when he'd made the Diary into a Horcrux, and had only recently turned sixteen. Tom's birthday didn't allow him to begin school until September of 1938 even though he probably could have started September of '37 without issue.

He was technically a Fifth Year student and when he got a body again, it would be the body of a teenager. Hopefully  _after_  he started going through puberty. That time when Tom sounded more like 'an angel' than any of the girls in the orphanage, had been hell. Especially with religious people trying to force him into their religion and church assemblies.

Tom cared not for hymns nor a God whose people would see him burnt down for being magical. For being inquisitive. For daring to think for himself.

No, Tom was fine without all that.

The point was that his plans were coming along nicely, and Bella's plans were also coming along as well. Other than Voldemort still existing, Tom could see no problems in the near future for either of them. With a bit of planning and a listen to the prophecy they could find a solution.

After all, Voldemort was not the only Dark Lord at large in the world and Bella was not the only child born as the 'seventh month dies'.

* * *

** Lily Evans(Formerly Lady Gaunt) Disowned! **

Some time over the past week, the Hall of Records was automatically updated with  
the new information of Prunella Potter accepting Ladyship of House Selwyn, and her  
sister Belladonna Potter, took up Ladyship of Houses Gaunt and Blishwick. We were  
unable to contact Lily Evans for details, but we have extrapolated a possible reason  
from what we know thus far.

The former Lady Gaunt-Selwyn-Blishwick had been rushed to St. Mungo's last week  
after a surprise attack in Diagon Alley. A few days later, the Ladyship of her Houses  
changed suddenly and without reason. However, only a few things could cause this.  
Either she broke a rule required of a Lady of those three Houses, or she's failed to  
fulfill a requirement. Seeing as they are three different endangered families, what  
could they all have in common as an expectation of the family Head?

Children. Specifically, a way to further the line. If Lily Evans somehow did not meet  
the deadline as is expected, she would be stripped of her position for that family in  
question. She was in the hospital because of an injury caused by Dark Magic. Is it  
possible a side effect was infertility? If she is unable to further the lines, she can't  
be Lady any longer, and the role would immediately fall to her Heiresses instead.

But then why was she disowned by both of her former Heiresses immediately? As  
you all may recall, the scandal the Potter family found themselves in the middle of  
in due to James Potter and his then-wife Lily Evans, abandoning Belladonna Potter  
to an abusive muggle couple without once checking up on her personally, or caring  
about her. It isn't too shocking that Belladonna would wish to distance herself from  
the witch who didn't want her, but why would Prunella want to as well?

This reporter may have the answer. And it isn't a pleasant one and brings to mind  
many more situations of concern we've come upon in recent years.

Ever wonder why an eleven year old girl would play professional Quidditch? Why a  
child would even think they need a job so young to begin with? From a source I've  
agreed to keep anonymous, James Potter was very controlling. He only allowed his  
Heiress to play Quidditch or muggle football while growing up. He was controlling  
enough to charm Bludgers to attack her to force her how to learn quickly! She had  
broken many bones during his training and neither parent took her to St. Mungo's,  
believing she could handle the pain. Her Twice-Blessed ability from being a twin is  
Healing after all, and James told her that pain would teach her to be a contributing  
team member when she finally went professional.

On Lily's end, she was always trying to force Prunella to do everything she felt that  
a little girl should, and often argued with her then-husband over anything a person  
could argue about. She also forced Prunella to cut her hair, never taught her how to  
shop for herself, and dismissed anything she had to say as the just childish ranting.  
This prompted Prunella to spend as much time away from home as she could.

From these recent revelations, it's no wonder neither child want anything to do with  
their blood parents. My biggest concern however, is how did no one even notice that  
the Potter household was so terrible this entire time?

And if the Girl-Who-Lived's home life wasn't even as rosy red as we've been lead to  
believe, how many other children are in unhappy homes right under our noses?

Me, myself, and I, intend to find out and put a stop to it!

_Rita Skeeter,_   
_Special Correspondent to the Daily Prophet._

* * *

"Do you ever interact with anyone else in your skating club?"

The question had brought Bella up short. Out of all her friends, she kept only expecting Amara to know about this stuff, but of course Hermione would study up on everything because she had become a fan and was curious! Hermione as inquisitive and liking knowing everything about everything. She was a lot like Tom in that way actually.

Bella had been training at the rink for several years already. She'd met with the other skaters in training their as well. Knew them all by name even. She didn't necessarily talk with them much anymore, because ever since her vaults of gold had been wonderfully dumped onto her shoulders, she'd been paying for private time every other day, in order to train in peace and away from others.

Black Ice Skating Club was one of the only two rinks in London open all year 'round right beside Queens Ice Dance Club. Three major coaches from the National Ice Skating Association trained their skaters there and it was always busy as it was open fourteen hours instead of just twelve. Also, Deborah was willing to let her skate additionally without payment if she wanted.

Aaliyah was the youngest of the three official coaches at the rink and had the least amount of experience in coaching, so unlike the other two who were coaching over three skaters each, Aaliyah just had Bella to focus on. It was better that way, so their full attention was on one another. However, Bella had been warned some time ago that if someone was to come to Aaliyah with honest desire to train under her, she wouldn't turn them away and Bella would have to learn to share the ice as well as her guardian.

So far nothing like that had happened, but it was possible.

Still, she hadn't expected a question about it to come from Hermione.

"I don't," the girl mumbled, looking away as she was perfectly aware how that sounded. Not good, basically. She rolled over on her bed and bunched up her purple, shag pillow in order to support her head better. "I don't ever really want to."

Hermione's mouth flattened into a line of disappointment. "I really think you should try talking to them more."

"But-"

"I wasn't done."

She shut up.

A nod of approval was Hermione non-verbal response. "You have skill and you work really hard, but you don't have relationships with your competitors. You don't want to be know as a, pardon the language, _'cold-hearted arsehole'_  do you? That won't help build your reputation among your peers  _or_  the officials, you know."

And… she had a point no matter how much Bella didn't like it.

"I'm not good with people," Bella murmured, because it was true. If they were boring, Bella wasn't interested and couldn't maintain an air of forced camaraderie.

"You have to at least make an effort though, Bella. Would you rather be known as the shy but hard-working legend, or the pratty genius who looks down on everyone else?"

That meant interacting with people she wasn't even interested in! Bella couldn't force interest! Her History of Magic scores were proof of this fact! Even when she tried her hardest it was just so stressful to do well in boring classes or boring subjects!

"You talk to your fans on YouTube," Hermione pointed out.

"Well, yeah!  _YouTube_. I just respond to comments or questions they have and I rarely respond twice in the same thread! There isn't this big expectation for me to continue the conversation over there." On YouTube it was easy. In reality it wasn't as such. Behind the safety of a keyboard and lack of eye contact made it all the more easy to converse online with people.

"I'd rather you mend your relationships now, before Juniors. I want more people to like you and not get the wrong idea of where you're coming from. Not like those in your primary school did. Just try, Bella."

"Fine."

* * *

"See what having a wand meant for you will accomplish?" Moody asked rhetorically as he limped around Neville's posed figure, his staff echoing off the floor with every movement.

He had a point. Neville's magical output had increased and he'd proven that he'd retained his training very well last summer. Using his own wand instead of his father's wand had actually shown he had skill. And he was going to bring both to school obviously so he could improve his grades.

"Put that wand away, son, you're grandmother is on her way to check on your progress," Mad-Eye ordered lowly, his strange eye swiveling in circles, no doubt keeping track of Augusta's movements.

Neville stashed his new wand in his coat pocket and withdrew his father's old wand from his wand holster.

By the time his gran got to the room, Neville was attempting to perform a simple disarming charm on a dummy, with absolutely no success. She tutted and tsked and shook her head as she drew Moody into a none too quiet discussion about how Neville seemed to have no 'use'.

Moody tried to tell her that some people too time before their skills truly blossomed, but she refused to believe him.

The blond grit his teeth bitterly, wishing for not the first time in his life, that something unfortunate happened to the old hag. Nothing would even be a good enough punishment in his eyes.

* * *

This was terrible! Just as things seemed to be going according to plan, summed the carpet had been pulled out from under them! Any really power Lily could have used over her daughters was now useless. The girls moved swiftly.

And he wasn't unaware of how it had been a week and yet Lily had yet to contact him about it. He had to read in the bloody paper that his plans for Voldemort's defeat weren't going as they should.

No matter, he supposed. There was always Neville Longbottom and Augusta had been having him trained by Alastor Moody in the past two summers. Albus would keep an eye on the boy's improvement while trying one last plan to get the Potter girls to shape up.

Things were going to be changing in Magical Britain within the next year so there was one last chance for him to help the fate of the world.

* * *

"Why exactly, can we use magic here?" Bella asked the moment she stepped foot into Grimmauld Place. It was supposed to be her and Prue staying over for the last week of summer, and she'd come by early, through the front door. And felt all weird and light-headed afterward too.

"The wards," was Sirius' simple answer.

"They're stronger than the Ministry's Trace?"

"Oh yeah! This place is really old! The magic of the warding stone has been using our magic to power the protections for ages and it muddles the Ministry's ability to pick up magic being done by underage magicals."

Bella paused in her stride. Using their magic to power the wards? That was that odd pulling sensation she'd felt the moment she'd stepped through the door? And the Ministry couldn't track their wand's usage under said wards?

"It does that  _all_  the time?"

"Yeah. But it's a decent sacrifice considering we can get away with a lot in here. It's like that for most Pureblood families with ancestral homes."

That gave her many ideas and questions. She needed to talk to her friends.

* * *

"As you can see, she no longer has a way to provide for them. And in all honesty, they don't need her provisions anyway."

The final step to getting them away from Lily entirely was to convince the people in charge of the Welfare of Magical Children Division, to see that Lily was not a suitable parental figure.

"She is no longer the Lady to the Houses of Gaunt, Blishwick, or Selwyn. She has been disowned in every manner of the word, leaving her with no name. She has no money either, nor does she have a house to live in. She cannot provide for herself let alone Bella or Prue, and I am of the firm belief that she shouldn't be allowed to maintain custody of either," Sirius explained. "Not having a steady income would be enough for muggles to consider her incapable of being their guardian, let alone everything else tacked onto it."

The woman in front of them, a Madam Whistledon, who had blocky, blue glasses and a great mole on her cheek, pursed her lips. "You have a point. And considering her most recent falling out with the public, she wouldn't be a healthy guardian to be around either if it's too dangerous to even be near her."

He didn't even blink the moment the news broke that Belladonna and Prunella had suddenly become the Ladies of their respective Houses granted by Lily, because Lily failed to meet certain requirements to maintain Ladyship. The true shock was how quick both girls were to act on this new information, disowning her legally and quickly, and removing her from ever having additional legal influence over them in this life or the next.

In fact, he would say it was almost planned.

Sirius was not stupid no matter how often he may seem it. He did pay attention to what happened around him and kept a keen eye under Remus' supervision. It was a bit suspicious that Lily's ineptitude as a Lady of a House was revealed and then suddenly both daughters are pushing her as far away as they can. And both knew exactly what to do despite certainly never learning that information from any of their other guardians yet.

It was very much like this had all been planned. He just didn't know the exact details and wasn't sure he should ask about it to begin with.

And the odd thing was that he wasn't concerned by it all either. He was just glad they could be away from Lily's bad influence. After mellowing out a lot more over the years, Sirius was more observant and accepting in nature. And he tried learning from his mistakes.

Madam Whistledon flipped through several files, her bespectacled gaze moving back and forth constantly. "She is in violation of the requirements of a guardian. Lily Evans will be stripped of her guardianship by the end of the week, worry not."

It was always useful to know that Sirius had a lot of gold at his disposal to get things done in a timely manner.

The twins looked positively thrilled and shared a knowing look that Sirius could tell had far deeper meaning than what it showed on the surface.

They'd gotten up to something possibly not legal. And he honestly didn't mind so long as they were safe and secure.

* * *

**I'M FREE!**

That would be Bella. It had been a 'hot minute' as she would say, since they'd spoken and he was curious to know what had been going on in her life as of late. It was be a welcome distraction from all the work he was doing.

Tom pulled the notebook closer and grabbed am Eagle Feather Quill from Xeno's desk.

_Care to elaborate?_

**Prue and I are no longer have Lily as a guardian! She's all alone now!**   
**There is no way in hell that she'll make something out of this! She'd**   
**have to try something new and that can take ages.**

That was good. It meant good things for their futures. He was honestly shocked her sister had gone along with the idea at all. While not very Gryffindor according to Bella, she wasn't very Slytherin either. And even if she wasn't prejudiced like their parents were, she  _had_  to be a bit wary of Dark Magic itself. Or maybe she was just that desperate to escape her blood mother's control.

For the time being, Lily had seemed to be a bigger threat to their safety than James Potter, which was why so much attention was placed on her.

_Congratulations. Do you believe this is the last you'll hear of her?_

**Definitely not. But for now, until she gets a job or whatever, she will**   
**have nothing to do with us, and it's super great! Thanks for whatever**   
**the ritual you did was! I can't believe it worked so fast! I thought that**   
**it would take weeks but it was like an overnight thing.**

**Also, competitions have begun and I'm actually heading to Scheffield**   
**for Nationals. It'll be my first time going to the British Figure Skating**   
**Championships, so we're treating this as preparation for Juniors!**

_Happy to help, and I hope you win._

He had a feeling she would. She was basically ready for 'Juniors' as she called it. Her birthday was simply in the wrong place unfortunately, so she had to wait another year. But she was of age already.

**I have won all my competitions so far but you never know what could**   
**happen. Those were all very simple, local competitions. This will have**   
**have tonnes more skaters because it's all British skaters who're going.**   
**Nationals tends to last days because there are so many people in each**   
**Division.**

**And when Juniors finally rolls around, the odds will be less in my favour**   
**because of people outside the UK in competitions. Not only will I have to**   
**come out above my fellow Brits just to get invited to certain events, but**   
**I will be up against the best from Europe, North America, and Asia. The**   
**Asian countries have cranked out some real talent in the last decade too!**   
**The skaters I like most are all Korean or Japanese and they work super**   
**hard all the time! :)**

It was be good for Bella to get experience against others. That way she'd know what to look out for and who would be her direct competition. While Tom wasn't interested in the sport itself, he was interested in the dedication Bella put into it. He wanted her to succeed and prove herself above everyone else.

How many six year olds decided to force themselves through rigorous training because they'd decided that early, that they knew what they wanted to do with their life? Bella deserved to succeed after fighting through even broken bones and borderline terrible injuries for this.

It was more than Tom would be willing to give for a sport.

_Good luck._

**Thanks. :) How's it coming along with the arsehole?**

_Swell. Nearly everything is completed._

**And you still won't tell me what you're planning?**

_I would prefer to surprise you if you can be patient._

**Meh. Fine.**

* * *

"How was it this summer, Neville? Dreadful?"

The blond blinked twice as he thought back to the two months he'd spent with his gran and the horrible training she'd had him put through once again. Other than the sleepover at Bella's birthday, nothing else had been good in terms of pleasant.

"Mad-Eye Moody had to train me again. Um…" he considered what he was about to do but decided that since they were his friends, he could trust them. "You know how I actually Flooed out to Diagon Alley with Luna instead of actually going directly home?"

The rest of them all nodded since he'd been the first to leave the next day after the party.

"I went and got a wand of my own right under gran's nose." He pulled it out to show them all. It was thirteen inches, Cherry, and with a single unicorn hair and it was most beautiful thing he'd ever seen besides a Venomous Tentacula.

Bella began applauding loudly, her grin near-blinding. "That's a good thing, right?"

In a way. "I decided to not use my dad's wand during practice, and like he told me last summer, I did a lot better with a wand of my own. I got every spell he taught me, with minimal issue actually. I've never been so good at magic before and it was great to feel so confident for once. Of course I couldn't use that wand when demonstrating for my gran but Moody is on my side at least."

Hermione huffed. "It's a shame I don't live in an enchanted house with wards to block out Ministry detection of underage wizardry. I could get a lot of training done too."

This had both Bella and Neville sharing a look. They'd corresponded over the summer and Bella had proposed a theory and needed his help with it. She said once she gathered her information she'd let Hermione in on it. She'd also asked Theo and Blaise about it too.

Bella sent him and shrug and turned to Hermione. "I actually think it's best you  _don't_  live in a place like that," she told the bushy-haired brunette. "I got an idea and I wanted to add this to your research once I got more facts to back up my theory.

"According to Neville, Theo, Blaise, and Sirius their ancestral homes have been in the family for a few centuries at least. They are heavily protected with magic that's built upon year after year, saturating the buildings and making them somewhat sentient. Like Hogwarts is. Except Hogwarts was only ever meant to protect children, so the only wards up are for protecting children from outside danger and it would take a lot of power to break those wards. Older Pureblood families are a little different."

She then turned her attention to Neville in what was an obvious show of sharing the floor so to speak. Neville turned to Hermione and said, "My family's ward stone is in the direct center of the manor and well hidden. The enchantments upon it vary from protecting those with Longbottom blood and banning Dark Magic. And further details I'm not aware of and I only know that the building as a whole absorbs an amount of magic from all inhabitants at all times."

That was enough to make Hermione's eyes blow wide. She looked at Blaise expectantly, and he nodded. "My family manor is like that too. Three centuries old, similar protections and expectations of every inhabitant to sacrifice some of their magic to constantly power the wards."

And Theo's answer was pretty much the same.

Bella was nodding along. "I asked Sirius about Grimmauld Place's warding and he went on a long tangent about it and how while he didn't like it, it was pretty useful considering all the things you can get away with under the Ministry's nose just by having something like that set up centuries go. I then asked Prue if Potter Manor, which still stands to this day, has the same things and she said yes even though she'd never been there, she'd had to hear about it many times from James."

There were similarities between them all. All Pureblood families residing in family manors older than at least two centuries, with wards that are powered by sucking out the magic of the inhabitants no matter who it was. It was very obvious what Bella was getting at.

"You think that the family homes of the Purebloods are also contributing to Squibs," said Hermione in almost breathless awe.

Bella nodded and reached up into the rack above them to grab her trunk. "I compiled the notes already for you, but just in case you want to ask around some more, you can add on to them. Still, Five Pureblood families, two firmly Light and three firmly Dark, and yet all have the same requirements from their warding stones to power the house's protections and yet have all produced Squibs at some point."

When she finally retrieved what she was looking for, she ended up handing over a bright purple file filled with muggle paper. It was all lined. Neville wished parchment could be lined. He hated using parchment.

"This is amazing! Thanks for taking my research seriously!" Hermione said, sending them all a blinding grin of utter joy.

Neville flushed and looked away. "It just seemed to make sense, you know? Bella had a point. All the families known for having birthed Squibs are Pureblooded, and they all have family manors passed down over the years, with the same basic expectations of their ward stones. I could get the inbreeding playing a big part in maybe physically disfiguring people but how does it happen magically? Crabbe and Goyle aren't exactly much to look at, not like I am either, and their magical output it weak too. And their families inbreed as well as live in old manors from infancy and onward."

"This makes sense," said Hermione quietly. "I got the Blood Test done, and Blaise ended up being right. Hector Dagworth-Granger is one of my ancestors on my father's side. My father is a Halfblood Squib born of a Pureblood Dagworth-Granger Squib and a Muggle. My mum however, is a Halfblood Squib born of a Pureblood Smith Squib and a Muggle. I'm a Halfblood at the very least, born from Squibs who grew up  _away_  from magic.

"And Lily Evans was born of two cast off Squib children of near-Squibs and somehow ended up in the muggle world where she was raised away from magic for a decade. And she came out normal and magically talented."

Yes, a lot of things were beginning to make sense now as his friends' studies became more clear and began to intersect. Neville was aware that some things needed to change in their world.

* * *

"Oh my God!"

Bella was staring up at the staff table, causing everyone seated around her to do the same. And unlike every other year she'd been at the school where there was an obvious new face among the crowd, it was exactly the same as last term. As in no one had changed seating. As in there were no new professors. As in Remus was still doing Defence!

McGonagall stood, and ordered the room to quiet down. She waved her wand in a counterclockwise circle, causing the torches on each side of the room to light up more. The sky outside the vast windows was dark, and Bella could only imagine what the Great Hall looked like from the outside.

"In a few moments, Professor Snape will bring in the First Years so they may be Sorted. I have decided to impart a quick word upon you all however. In years past, this school has seen a ridiculous surplus of prejudice from every corner you can imagine. In recent years we have learned that punishment has become too lax in certain areas and that means the staff will be taking up a more firm stance against bullying.

"The teachers, portraits, ghosts, Prefects, and even the castle itself, will be on the alert for any such happenings. We have learned by now that Salazar Slytherin did not wish death upon Muggleborns and that his supposed feud with Gryffindor was actually Godric and his daughter's fault. We have learned that Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws have developed a superiority complex about their Sorting and have taken to attacking Slytherins because they believe no one will punish them. We have learned that Slytherins are often blamed and not believed even when not in the wrong. This practice ends now."

The Slytherin Table was dead silent. No one made a sound in the House of Snakes while the rest of the school whispered to each other in confusion and affront at their actions being so blatantly revealed to the school.

"If you are caught bullying another student for any reason, you will automatically serve ten detentions with Professor Snape, will be restricted to a tighter curfew and lose all library privileges for three weeks, and if it pertains to you, will also lose all Hogsmeade and Quidditch privileges as the base punishment. Additional details can and  _will_  make it even worse for you."

And that was when the entire Hall went quiet in shock.

McGonagall looked as if she wanted to strangle something. As if having to give this speech at all was ridiculous in her mind. "I don't know how I am to convince you all that being decent human beings isn't that difficult, but attempt to control yourselves from now on. I don't care if you don't like Muggleborns or if you don't like Slytherins, your opinions aren't ones you formed yourselves and you simply picked them up from another person and decided to be like a sheep and believe them instead of using facts for what they are. You will not bully in this school or you will risk ruining the rest of your time here. It is my job to keep you safe and help you learn how to live once you leave these walls, not help you have fun. Remember that. This isn't a place of fun, it's a place of learning."

She promptly sat down and the double doors of the Hall opened, revealing Batman who was leading in a long row of wide-eyed First Years.

Bella hadn't been this stupefied since that one time Hermione practiced it on her in class. Hogwarts was finally cracking down on how to handle the shite going on in its corridors! It was a bloody miracle! What inspired it?

As the students were Sorted, the small group of Slytherins leaned across the table in order to speak in hushed tones.

"Can you believe that she's actually going to do something about it?" Bella asked, eyes on Hermione whose flush was barely noticeable thanks to the tan she'd gotten over the summer.

"I have high hopes for this year," the older girl said.

Theo nodded. "Doing this won't suddenly stop the prejudice being flung around but not tolerating it is definitely a good step forward. Acknowledging faults and remedying them is also a good thing."

"Mum will be pleased," Blaise added. "With Dumbledore directly out of Headmastership, things actually seem to be getting better strangely."

They all nodded in agreement because it was obviously true.

The Sorting finished rather quickly and McGonagall rose to give another speech. Where you could go, where you could not go, and the like. As expected of every new school term.

"Finally, you may have noticed that the House Point Hourglasses look different."

That had the entire student body looking behind her to see that indeed, they looked different. No longer filled with brightly glowing gems in the same colour as the House of choice.

"With the help of a donations fund set up by Lord Lucius Malfoy, the House Points System has been suspended indefinitely-"

"That's rubbish!"

"The bloody hell came up with that?"

Many more graphic things were shouted before McGonagall managed to quiet the more rowdy students down again. Her voice was thunderous as she called for order and the Hall went silent once more.

"As I was  _saying_ , we have suspended the practice of House Points because it has been brought to our attention that there is no true glory in a trophy that exchanges hands every year. That nothing truly amazing comes from earning Points. So we have implemented a new system."

And everyone listened intently, curious despite themselves.

"We now have a Merit System. Every ten Merits equals one Sickle. As you see, the hourglasses are filled with them, all donated by the occupants of Magical Britain, thanks to Lord Malfoy's efforts. Seventeen Sickles equals one Galleon. You earn Merits by answering questions in class, demonstrating wandwork, going above and beyond what is expected of you be it in homework, classwork, or testwork, services to the school, and by winning House Quidditch matches and the House Championship.

"At the end of the year, the money you have earned through Merits, will be used to throw each House a party in their Common Room. The more you raise, the more sweets and games you'll have. Essentially, a fun last night before heading home, and a chance for bragging rights to know your House will have the better party. If this ends up being a successful venture, we will keep it next year and onward."

Bella very much liked this new idea way more than House Points. While she liked earning House Points, it would be nice to actually get something cool at the end of the year! She and Hermione would totally have it in the bag! And she could imagine the cheat day she'd get on the last day of school with all the potential sweets!

* * *

"One turn is an hour," Batman explained to them as he held out the two, intricately carved, golden hourglasses full of glittering, golden sand. "It can only be turned twenty-four times in total, and needs to cool down for  _exactly_  three hours after use or you'll overheat it and it will shatter from the pressure and the sand within will dissolve."

"Is there like a limit to how many hours we can go back in a single day?" Bella asked as she accepted hers with wide eyes filled with excitement.

"Theoretically, no."

"Will it cause bodily issues if we go back multiple times a day?" she proceeded to ask.

"Also no."

She whistled. "This is like some OP powerup! Dang! I'm gonna be a Mary Sue with this!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. She then sent their Head of House a charming smile with her slightly over large teeth. "We promise to do right by you and the school as a whole, Professor Snape."

"Yeah, what she said."

He didn't look convinced and Bella honestly did a rather poor job at convincing him, but she was just so excited to get to her new schedule! She would basically be skating every day! She'd already done the math and everything! She knew what to do and where to go exactly on time each day. She even got a new watch specifically for keeping track of the time she used every day.

"I expect nothing but the best from you both. You were given instructions on how to handle your time wisely, I suggest you don't ignore them," said Batman, already returning to his work. "And don't get caught like some foolish Gryffindor."

* * *

"So you're actually getting paid this time? With like actual money and stuff?"

Remus beamed and nodded. "Over the summer, one of Arthur Weasley's laws managed to get passed. It allows magical creatures with above-average sentience to apply for jobs over the table. Apparently many of the students went home to their parents and talked about how well I teach and how fun my class is for them. I've had no incidents the whole time I've resided at Hogwarts with Padfoot, and my example has apparently lightened the hearts of many." He felt really proud to know that he'd somehow managed to help others be able to support themselves and their families.

"That's great!" Bella exclaimed. "I'm a bit shocked that it had happened and I hadn't seen it in The Daily Prophet." It  _was_  a great stride forward for Magical Britain as a whole and surely it would be mentioned there?

It hadn't been front-page news basically.

"Severus vouched for me, and as it's well known that he provides my potion every month, there is full trust in me to not pose a danger to the students."

This was simply incredible news.

Bella seemed to be truly happy for him too. He knew that she'd been angry about the inequality practically entrenched in their culture.

"Moony is here to stay!" Padfoot sang and he threw his arms around his husband. "And I have it on good authority that this year for you is going to be awesome!"

"Don't give it away, you berk."

Sirius scoffed in fake offense and fluttered his lashes coyly. "I'll have you know that I'm more of a twat than a berk."

Neither Remus nor Bella argued the distinction, causing the Black Lord to huff and turn away dramatically.

Life was pretty good.

"Just don't turn all Lockhart on us and you'll keep this job for years to come I'm sure," Bella told him seriously.

* * *

"Well the whole world's basically scuppered!"

"Or at least just your free time," Hermione suggested with a devilish grin, much to Bella's obvious annoyance.

"Why is Bella being overly dramatic?" Neville asked the moment he sat down at their preferred table in the library.

Luna hummed. "Bella tried reaching out to her fellow skaters at the rink and ended up agreeing to go see a film with them this Friday and now she can't get out of it and doesn't want to disappoint Hermione."

"This is not what me going back every other day was meant to be for!" Bella insisted. "It's for training and studying."

"And yet it'll be good for you in the end," Hermione promised. "They're meant to help you and help comes in many forms."

Bella was obviously not in agreement and stuck her tongue out in response.

* * *

> **SCHEDULE - Bella's Super Secret Special Edition!:**
> 
> **Mon - Sat:**
> 
> Sleep _(12 AM - 7 AM)_  
>  Breakfast _(8 AM- 9 AM)_  
>  Skating _(9:30 AM - 12 PM)_  
>  Lunch _(12:30 PM - 1 PM)_  
>  Anaerobic _(3 PM - 4 PM)_  
>  Studying _(5 PM - 6 PM)_  
>  Dinner _(7 PM - 8 PM)_  
>  Floo Back _(8 PM)_
> 
> **12 Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Sleep _(8 AM - 5 PM)_  
>  Kitchens _(5:30 PM - 6 PM)_  
>  Aerobics _(6:15 - 7 PM)_  
>  Studying _(7:15 PM - 8:00 PM)_
> 
> **12 More Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Period 1 _(9:15 AM - 10:30 AM)_  
>  Period 2 _(10:45 AM - 12 PM)_  
>  Period 3 Lunch _(12:15 PM - 1 PM)_  
>  Period 4 _(1:15 PM - 2:30 PM)_  
>  Period 5 _(2:45 PM - 4 PM)_  
>  Period 6 _(4:15 PM - 5:30 PM)_  
>  Dinner _(7 PM - 8 PM)_  
>  Free Time _(9 PM - Curfew)_  
>  = 48 Hours a Day.
> 
> **Sunday:**  Free Day.

Bella had already worked out her plans, and with Aaliyah, they'd talked it over. Essentially, she would be getting enough sleep and food in between all the training and studying she would be doing. The Weasley twins had told her where the kitchens were and how to get in. It would be simple so long as she remembered where she Turned Back from so she wouldn't run into her past self.

She knew nothing about Hermione's own schedule and hadn't asked either. It was a pretty private thing. Hermione was taking all available classes and every other school day, many of the electives took place at the exact same time. Meaning she had to time-travel multiple times a day as well. Bella simply didn't know if Hermione was doing 12 hours at a time, or something more manageable like six.

The very first week of the new schedule had been a bit rough getting used to it, but she had colour-coded guides and sheets she'd printed out multiple copies of, detailing her course of action for the next two terms. She even knew that she would officially be turning 14 on March 4th 2014 at noon, during her first Turn Back, making it the halfway mark of her 48 hour day. And if the schedule kept up as it was supposed to be, including the summer holidays in between, she knew where she'd turn 15, 16, and 17 as well.

She had high hopes for the future. Bella's plans involved leaving school early in order to focus on other things. She liked Hogwarts but it was stressful the extra work she had to put in for it. Turning seventeen the year she'd be doing her O.W.L.s meant she would get to drop out afterward and legally use magic because she was old enough. She'd then take her N.E.W.T.s on her own time.

It was all planned according to the hour.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When family drama isn't there to muddy up the lives of our characters, the world finds a way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Lots of newer things introduced in this chapter. The next chapter is finished  
> and the one after too.
> 
> -I learned some Arithmancy just for a part in this chapter.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Bella, have you realised yet that you're basically Slytherin royalty?" Blaise asked that afternoon during their study session in the library.

Said girl sent him a confused look. "Huh?" was her oh so intelligent response. The others all put their books down in order to listen in.

He shook his head, immeasurably fond but also a bit frustrated at how completely out of touch she was. "You're technically Slytherin's Heir. You could go and find the Chamber of Secrets and reveal hidden information about the line that's been lost for centuries. The reason no one has attacked you since the revelation was because it would be attacking their Founder in a sense. You're like our Queen."

"Technically I  _am_ ," she agreed easily, "but there is no Slytherin vault to claim at Gringotts. By the time the bank had been founded, the Founders' families had all branched off and changed their names. There is no Slytherin Castle or Manor or untold riches waiting to be claimed. The Gaunts squandered everything they had left. And Salazar's wand is buried in the earth at the heart of Ilvermorny, where it has sprung an entire tree full of Healing capabilities. There's nothing to really claim or lord over others. So in technicality I am his heir, but literally there's nothing to be an heir of."

She had a point, but she wasn't getting  _his_  point. "The Houses adore their Founders to an almost divine degree. Each believes their Founder is the best in everything no matter what. It doesn't matter that there's nothing else of him left besides you and your sister. You are the Heiress to the Gaunts and therefore you are the Heiress to the Slytherins. Slytherins admire power in any form, be it physical, magical, or even social. Your followers benefit by extension because they are your chosen friends and the people you surround yourself with constantly."

"Followers?" Bella repeated, quirking her right brow to an almost impossible angle. "What do you mean followers? I don't  _have_  followers."

Blaise gestured to the entire table with a wide sweep of his dark arm. "You do. That's how Slytherins view the group you choose to associate with. And as the Heiress, you are basically in charge of Slytherin. None of them have told you that because they're hoping you don't find out. An unspoken rule in our House is that Parselmouth's always have the final word and are to be obeyed. Mum told me about it during the summer." She'd been very direct about it too, having heard from her own mother what the last Heir had been like. "They don't  _want_  a thirteen year old lording over them though."

He could tell by how both Bella and Hermione's faces twisted, that they both thought the practice to be barbaric and ridiculous, but that was just how things were in their House. And the magical world in general. Tradition was a big thing in their history and rarely did people deviate.

"All I'm saying is that you have a lot of power at hand. Things have been kind of tense because they're all waiting or you to do something be it good or bad."

"That's stupid," the Slytherin Heiress decided blandly. "This weird, reverential attitude toward people long dead is odd. I have spoken to Salazar's portrait one on one in the middle of the night, and he's kind of dull. I think the Founders have been hyped up a bit too much because despite all this worship, no one knows a damn thing about any of them so they're all basing this worship on made up ideas."

The rest of their group gaped in horror at her dismissive attitude toward the very people who created their school and made it so they could learn magic in peace, but Bella didn't seem ready to budge an inch.

"I guess using this as leverage could be useful some time in the future," she conceded, "but they're just going to have to get used to waiting. I've got more important things going on in my life than wondering if I should turn Slytherin House into a dictatorship."

When she put it like that, it did sound far more messed up than it seemed on the surface. Perhaps it was best she didn't do anything and let the tradition die out.

* * *

Classes with Remus Lupin as an official teacher, ended up being really fun. This one in particular had to deal with them learning how to fight Boggarts. Hermione had already read about them and memorised everything she'd seen. In theory they seemed to be an easy being to banish. Visualisation and correct pronunciation could really go far in any branch of magic that required a wand as a focus. She excelled in basically every other class she had after all, just by that alone.

She  _didn't_  like the idea of forcing teenagers to face their greatest fears in front of other teenagers. Children and teens could be the absolute worst and depending on the fear, it could lead to ridicule later on. Not every teen was mature and considering most of the class was full of thirteen year olds, expecting them all to handle these revelations respectfully was a bit unfair.

Still, it was something apparently done in the DADA classes for the Third Years no matter who was teaching, so it wasn't Professor Lupin's fault and she wouldn't hold it against him.

He'd asked questions and had made certain that both Hermione and Bella were aware of how he knew they were intellectuals and that he valued their efforts, but that he would like to give the other students a chance. Hermione had been a bit down-hearted but had relented eventually seeing as he had a point.

Dean Thomas of Gryffindor managed to answer a question along with Draco Malfoy, and Parvati Patil and Daphne Greengrass also answered two. Each got five Merits for correct information worded _'extremely well'_  as Professor Lupin praised at the end. That was a Sickle to each House's hourglass in one class alone.

"Practice saying it with me!  _Riddikulus_!" the man ordered, using his wand as a conductor might to lead them through it personally.

" _Riddikulus_!" the chorused back.

"One more time."

" _RIDDIKULUS_!" the chorused more clearly.

He smiled and motioned to the very old and rough-looking wardrobe at the far end of the room. "I will lift the latch and the Boggart will slip out. It will have already assumed the shape of the fear of the person closest to it. Once you cross that yellow line I've drawn, you will be close enough for the power to take affect. Worry not. Remember the incantation, think of humourous things with which to use on your Boggart, and know that if necessary I will be right here to help you if you need me."

Ron Weasley ended up going first and the way the blood drained from his face so suddenly at the sight of a Black Widow spider big enough to give J.R.R. Tolkien nightmares, made her minutely concerned. His wand arm was shaking as it lifted slowly.

"Remember the incantation, Mr. Weasley!" said Professor Lupin with just a small bit of force.

Ron swallowed twice and the pointed his shaking wand and practically bellowed, " _Riddikulus_!"

At once, the spider's many 'feet' were strapped to roller skates of bright pink that caused it to lose its balance and forced it to collapse. The class erupted into a smattering of applause and laughter as the indignity was too much to ignore.

Ron hastened to the back of the room immediately, ignoring the jeering of his Housemates as he passed them, leaving Draco Malfoy to stare at the spider's eight eyes in poorly concealed distaste. Hermione could tell it was a front though, because his arms were crossed and his jaw was clenched as if grinding his teeth together. He was concerned over what he was going to see.

The Black Widow's form disappeared, leaving only an amorphous cloud of twisting colours in its wake for a few seconds. And then the new form took hold. For a split second at least.

What became a blond-haired man who looked very similar to Draco himself, shifted instantly into an abnormally tall, cloaked figure, with features hidden by the darkness of its hood. The only part any of them could see were the bright crimson, slitted eyes seemingly floating in the darkness inside said hood. And there was no happiness in that gaze.

It didn't take a genius to understand what Draco feared.

Voldemort. Which was very sensible of him considering his father's loyalty and how Slytherin families that followed the Dark Lord, expected their children to follow him too, or else. Like Theodore's horrible grandfather.

Professor Lupin had understood right away, sucking in a wary breath and lifting his own wand just in case he had to intervene.

Draco's wand snapped out. " _Riddikulus_!" Voldemort's form turned into Dumbledore, in bright fuchsia robes plastered with twinkling, golden stars, his long beard dyed green and his half-mooned spectacles darkened to look like muggle sunglasses as his hands were lifted high in the air showing devil horns one would usually see at a rock concert. He looked utterly ridiculous, which was the point, but it wasn't a visual Hermione couldn't see becoming real.

The entire class broke down though. Dumbledore was known to wear some very odd patterns and colours. He was often laughed at in secret over it and this made anything else he'd ever worn look sensible. But at least the dark mood that had settled over the room seemed to dissipate a bit.

More and more students went. Parvati Patil was scared of venomous snakes and had taken several large steps back when a massive one the size of a shed appeared. She eventually managed to turn it into a clown. Or was it a mime? Hermione didn't follow Pokemon but she was certain it was a Pokemon, and she wondered where Parvati learned about Pokemon in the first place if she was a Pureblood raised on the magical side.

Daphne Greengrass was scared of some woman who looked very much like an older version her, but more tired than a person could ever possibly be while still healthy. She'd looked worn out and done with life as she rocked a baby in each arm and frowned into the distance, almost lifeless. She turned her Boggart into a kitten that was just getting used to its legs, making most of the class coo as it struggled to stand and wobbled every which way.

Seamus Finnegan was actually scared of cats so he turned his fear into a tiny, stuffed bird that made deep honking noises.

Pansy Parkinson was scared of whips and knives, and her bottom lip had quivered as a whole collection of them snapped threateningly in her face. She managed to turn them into butterflies. Not exactly funny but better than what her fear was.

Prunella Potter was scared of herself being alone and trapped? She'd looked smaller, lifeless, and balled up in a cage, having given up on freedom. When she cast the spell on the Boggart, it became Ronald Weasley, with a dirt-smudged face and really hideous, brown and pink, frilly dress robes that caused the  _real_  Ronald to gasp in horror and scream, "I thought we promised to  _never_  bring that up again!" The whole class roared with laughter at that now that they knew there was a story behind it.

Gregory Goyle was scared of clocks. Or time perhaps. The clock became a cupcake.

Dean Thomas was scared of police. Specifically not ones from London or any found in England actually, since the uniform was all wrong. It looked familiar, but it wasn't anything an English cop would wear. The officer was turned into Yoda.

Vincent Crabbe was scared of Voldemort, just like Malfoy had been. He turned Voldemort into a reindeer of all things. But no, there was no red nose, not that she really expected it.

Theo was scared of his grandfather which came as no surprise to any of them. Though Hermione was shocked that a man at least in his 80s looked like he was still in his early twenties at the least. The 80s/90s were supposed to be middle-age for wizards so how was he still so youthful? Not even a wrinkle. It was unnerving the amount of intensity the Boggart had while staring Theo down.

In what seemed more like therapy than spell-casting, Theo turned his terror of a grandfather into an Azkaban prisoner complete with prison garb and rattling shackles. Only Theo laughed at the image. and it was more hysterics than a true laugh.

Lavender Brown was scared of losing all her hair. Instead of dawdling, she forced the Boggart to become Cousin Itt.

Blaise was scared of Aurors and turned the Boggart into a squeaking doormouse in retaliation.

Bella's was very understandable. It was herself confined to a wheelchair, and when the Boggart attempted to stand, it collapsed and could only crawl. Bella's whole career required legs more than anything else, and being unable to use them to achieve her goals would be hell. Bella turned the crippled version of herself into a ballerina complete with pointe shoes, obscenely coloured make up, and a ridiculous tutu of bright orange. The Boggart was then forced to pirouette nonstop until the next person went.

Hermione was told by the Professor Snape Boggart that she failed every single one of her classes and wouldn't be allowed back at Hogwarts and her wand would be snapped. It almost got her to panic, but she remembered herself quickly and reacted more calmly than some of the others. She turned Snape into Batman which got a loud snort from Bella who broke down instantly, knowing exactly why it was done in the first place. Dead Thomas was quick to follow. Hopefully her Head of House  _didn't_  find out about this. Hermione would never be able to look him in the eye again.

Millicent Bulstrode was terrified at the sight of an Inferius, a creature that had been used by Voldemort during the war. Professor Lupin had to intervene on her behalf and sent her off to the Hospital Wing for some Calming Draught.

Tracey Davis' basically had Daphne's fear but with even more children and never-ending wrinkles. Her solution was the same too.

Out of all the Gyrffindors, Dean and Prunella seemed to be the only ones with a somewhat concerning fear. The Slytherins, sans Goyle, all seemed to fear Voldemort, known-abusive family members, prejudice and failure, or futures that went nowhere because they were forced into Pureblood traditions. Gryffindor fears generally seemed to be more light-hearted such as animals or mummies for the general whole of the Third Years.

It showed what the lives on either side were like. Generally, Gryffindor held Light families of all Blood Statuses and Slytherin held Dark families that were mostly Pureblooded. Requirements of children from those families tended to be different. A lot seemed to be expected to follow sexist traditions and serve Voldemort on the Slytherin side, whereas on the Gryffindor side, most of the magical-raised kids seemed like they were allowed to be children more. Less stressful expectations placed upon them in their youth. That allowed them to keep their rosy glasses longer.

Hermione had to wonder what would happen if Slytherin  _didn't_  attract the majority of the abused children.

Professor Lupin gave points like they were sweets. Each person got five Merits for facing their fears and a lot of Sickles were earned as a result. Slytherin had more students in the class and obviously got more.

The DADA class for that year was actually a good one.

* * *

Bella took a deep breath in preparation, and knocked thrice on the wooden door before her. This was necessary for her own research as well as Hermione's. It was a lucky thing their projects aligned so much because this meant they could directly share new info with each other. Bella hadn't been idle all summer after all. While it felt like it had flown by, she'd gotten a lot done on her own.

When the door opened, she was granted the unpleasant sight of Mr. Filch, holding his cat Mrs. Norris who was just a cat and not a Kneazle or magical breed of feline of any sort. Both looked down on her with long faces and narrowed eyes. "What do you want?" the old man demanded.

"I was wondering if I could get your assistance with a project of mine?"

He looked distrustful, which wasn't shocking. From what Bella had learned of his time at Hogwarts, it wasn't a good one.

"What kind of project?" he eventually asked, sounding less severe than before.

Another deep breath. "I'm working on developing a way to give Squibs access to their magic so we can limit the number of children being abandoned by their families."

Filch obviously didn't believe her and was already moving to slam the door in her face. Bella inserted her foot into his office just before he could, and winced at the pain of it getting caught between the door and the jam. He'd really went all out for the slamming. "Please!" she tried. "You aren't the first Squib I've asked to help me, but I need more results than just the three I already know."

Mrs. Norris hissed, but Filch shushed her, his eyes looking from Bella's squished foot to what she hoped was a very earnest expression on her face.

"Fine," the man grumbled. "Get in and be sharpish about it!" The door was hastily slammed behind her, and she found herself in a musty old room filled to the ceiling with cabinets upon cabinets, and a single oaken desk.

"What do you want specifically?" Filch demanded as he sat down.

Bella held up her clipboard. "I know many don't like talking about it, but I promise it's to settle a Theory I have and will be a great help later on. Were you born to a Pureblood Family?"

He looked bitter as he admitted, "Yes. The Macnairs to be specific. I changed my name early on."

And he got away alive? Good for him.

"Does that family have an ancestral home which is over two hundred years old and possesses a ward stone that uses the magic of the inhabitants to protect it?"

" _Yes_." Now he just looked confused.

"Did your parents ever marry their kin?"

"They were brother and sister and their parents were first cousins betrothed at birth."

Damn. These Pureblood families were bloody whack! She made another note on her list.

"Have you ever tried to make a potion?"

"No! I'm a Squib!"

Bella tsked and reached down for her bag in which she stored a bunch of items. Remus had been a good chap and had enchanted it for her to hold more than what it appeared to be capable of. For the time being at least. It wasn't permanent. He wasn't  _that_  good at Transfiguration and Charms after all.

She pulled out an entire potions kit as well as a portable burner, a pewter cauldron, and the tools necessary. They were set up on the man's desk. "So a friend of mine told me Squibs have magic but can't access it like the rest of us. There have been Squib Seers in our history and Seers need magic to have visions, so how can a Squib be a Seer? They  _must_  have magic.

"So my first ever friend on the muggle side, is a Squib, born of two Pureblood Squibs. One from India and one from England. I asked all three of them this summer, to brew a potion for me. Beings without magic, cannot successfully brew a potion that will work. The being  _must_  have magic that will interact with the ingredients and process for it to work. They all brewed the Boil Cure well enough on the first try, and despite not being up to Professor Snape's standards, would be safe to consume if in dire need and would work. Not as quickly as a perfectly brewed potion of course, but being able to work at all is enough."

He looked dumbfounded.

"I would like to ask you to follow the instructions Professor Snape has written for the Boil Cure. It's a First Year Level potion he has improved upon, and requires minimal work and time. You simply must pay attention to what you're doing. This will help my information and theories."

After several moments of them staring one another down, one with near demanding insistence and the other with poorly veiled hope, he finally conceded.

An hour later, Mr. Filch had brewed a very well-made potion that was the colour it was supposed to be. And when they brought it to Batman for his opinion, he declared it good enough to be used in the Hospital Wing. The dour professor looked interested in her notes as she marked down his words.

Seeing Filch tear up at that revelation had made Bella's day. It felt as if she'd helped him find more purpose than just slinking around dark corridors and hissing at errant students for leaving the school a right mess that he had to help clean. He'd been told he was of no use to the magical world and yet here he was, capable of learning something that could get him a real job with decent pay.

She couldn't wait to share her info with Hermione!

* * *

"Hey, Prue!"

Said girl stiffened and turned to regard her dormmates whom she rarely talked to because they were annoying and all they did was talk about makeup and boys, which were things she wasn't interested in. Prue'd get on more with the boys in her year because most of their conversations were about Quidditch at the least. Prue didn't need to feign interest in Quidditch. She also understood nothing about makeup and didn't care enough about it to learn about it.

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were staring at her with ridiculous focus that they usually reserved for boy talk or that hour when doing their hair in the mornings. Prue didn't want to deal with this, she just wanted to quick brush her hair and the sleep like the dead.

"What?" the Quidditch player murmured, on guard and not trusting them since neither had been on her side last term and had joined in on the insults about her being a 'slimy Slytherin' and all that tripe. Gryffindor's Golden Girls were just as prejudiced as the most prejudiced Slytherins and Prue didn't get why they liked to pretend otherwise.

But both were smiling at her like they hadn't been a bunch of back-stabbing, immature twats last years. Prue was suitably not impressed by them and considered flashing them a not so kind gesture.

"We've been talking and realised we don't know you all that well."

No shite. They never bothered talking  _to_  her before, just around her while bringing her up in conversation or bragging about her being in their House.

"We wanted to know why you haven't got a boyfriend yet," said Brown, looking expectant.

And for a moment, that lone word ricocheted off the walls of her wind and got louder with each hit.

**B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D**

Boyfriends meant romance. Romance usually meant marriage eventually. Marriage usually ended up in screaming and fighting.

It was like she was watching one of James and Lily's fights all over again. One of the worst ones actually. In which Lily had smacked James in the face and called him a coward. And James had in turn thrown her handbag into the lit hearth along with whatever valuables she's had in it because he wouldn't hit her back. And that left Prue to have to wait for the fight to go elsewhere otherwise she couldn't go to the Weasleys with them blocking the only way out.

When the memory dissipated and she found herself once more in the Gryffindor Girls' Dorm, Prue frowned. "I don't  _want_  a boyfriend." Not if any relationship she'd be in would end up like her parents' relationship! No sir! No thank you! Prue would gladly remain alone forever in order to avoid that shite.

" _Ooooh_!" Parvati said with an understanding nod that literally made no sense. "Why don't you have a girlfriend, then?"

What was it with them and dating in general? It didn't  _seem_  like something interesting.

"I don't want a significant other of any sort!" Prue hissed, feeling the most annoyed she'd been since her First Year. "And I'm bloody thirteen for Merlin's sake!"

"So?" Brown asked with a careless shrug. "Parvati's dating Dean and I'm with Ernie Macmillan."

They were literally  _also_  only thirteen! What did they think thirteen year old boys could offer them? And the bloody hell did they think they'd be getting up to with their curfew and lack of free time?

Quidditch was an easier topic to handle. Why couldn't everyone just talk about Quidditch?

* * *

The school was not used to Belladonna Potter of all people, causing a ruckus. She tended to simply mind her own business and speak with her friends and just go about her day. So when she burst into the Great Hall, somehow managing to slam one of the double doors against the wall despite her lack of imposing stature, everyone turned and stared. Grand entrances like that usually demanded attention.

Her unnatural green eyes were filled with excitement never before seen on her young face. To the general population at least. She was radiating joy from every pore and it didn't seem like it would go away any time soon. She looked as if she'd gotten everything she'd ever wanted all at once.

"I've been a bit out of the loop of muggle politics recently," the girl announced to the whole room even though her eyes were flicking back and forth between her friends seated at the Slytherin Table and the Huffleouff Table. "Yet I have just learned of some great news!"

She hadn't even moved from the doorway, obviously too excited to do much else but talk.

"Last year was an intense one as legislation to legalise same-sex marriage in England began to be taken more seriously. It passed all three readings after some amendments throughout the year, and it's finally legal. My muggle guardian can marry her girlfriend come 29 March of this coming year and they're gonna have a summer ceremony to celebrate! I've been watching these two dance around one another for like ever, so not only is this great for them, but it's a great stride as a whole for the British people in general!"

And the school stared at her, not exactly feeling the same amount of excitement since same-sex couples were the norm in their world and potions could work literal wonders in the core of the drinker bonded with the ingredients within it. But it was common knowledge that muggles were a bit behind in that aspect and seeing that kind of thing happen for them  _was_  a big deal especially for magicals newly introduced to magic.

Potter's friends broke into a round of applause from both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Tables. A few others followed suit in order to be supportive, and finally, in what seemed like a school-wide shrug, the rest joined in including the Head Table. Dumbledore seemed especially enthusiastic as he stood in his garish robes and applauded happily.

It was something to celebrate and even the most staunchly Pureblood-supporting students had to applaud the decision even if they thought it ridiculous that it was ever an issue at all.

* * *

Hallowe'en was always a day of interest and Bella had decided to celebrate it in style.

A few weeks back she'd gotten Aaliyah to place an order for some American sweets that had already started hitting the shelves, based upon suggestions by her YouTube subscribers from across the pond.

It was just a fun video to prove that she listened to their suggestions and valued their input. She of course, sectioned off a portion of each with intent to force them upon her friends and see their reactions. Bella was excited to see Neville try an Atomic Fireball.

Her room had been decorated with fakes bats and black cats and orange garland wrapped over anything remotely thin. Her bedding had been changed to black with tonnes of sparkles for the occasion.

Bella got to try Nerds, Twizzlers in Strawberry and Cherry _(she was partial to Cherry because she could plait the strands but the Strawberry ones were cool to use as literal straws)_ , Fun Dip, Atomic Fireballs, and Laffy Taffy in various flavours.

She ended up liking all of it which wasn't new. Bella had a sweet tooth that would be her undoing if she had no self-control! If being in top physical form wasn't a requirement, Bella would probably stuff her face with sweets daily.

It was all done to celebrate reaching 200,000 Subscribers, and seeing the reactions in the comments was nice. Also someone said she was good at editing her videos, to which Bella had to inform them that she just had Aaliyah pause it in certain places and record in others. She knew nothing about editing, but once it was mentioned, the idea had merit. Perhaps she could learn to do it over the summer.

When she finally returned to Hogwarts and time-traveled back to 8 AM for the first time, Bella brought the sweets with her and intended to show them off later on after she woke up.

She'd forgotten that it was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

* * *

When Bella came back to school and time-traveled back to 8 AM, she had tucked herself into her fourposter, set up a few spells just in case, and promptly passed out until 5 PM. She hadn't thought much of anything until she went down to the kitchens to find the House Elves preparing food for the Hallowe'en Feast.

Hallowe'en was always the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. She was thirteen and could go down to the village with her friends now thanks to Aaliyah signing her permission slip! Basically, instead of doing classes or aerobic training when she time-traveled back to 8 AM for the last time, she'd be meeting up with her friends in the Great Hall and the getting in the carriages and going down to the village and explore all the stuff she's only read about so far or heard about from Remus.

And the ride down was interesting because the carriages were horseless and could fit a lot of students at once, so most of their group plus Prue and Ron, fit in one and got to watch the scenery as it passed them by. Bella was committed to bringing Luna back something. It was unfortunate that she wasn't a Third Year student like them.

Throughout the whole ride Prue stared out the windows oddly, eyes focused on something Bella couldn't see. She didn't even know if the girl was actually looking at anything. but her eyes remained trained on the front of the carriage and her body remained unmoved.

Hogsmeade was awesome when they finally got there. It was all mismatched like Diagon Alley with rows upon uneven rows of buildings that all kind of leaned forward a bit. Weirdly shaped chimneys extended into the sky, some smoking.

Hermione had made an entire list of places she wanted to visit and proceeded to drag them to each and every building of interest. Some for a history lesson and others for exploration. Honeydukes was Bella's favourite, followed quickly by The Three Broomsticks. Bella had her first Butterbeer and then Gillywater because the Butterbeer was too sweet and butterscotchy and she wasn't for that. Bella did really like Caramel, Toffee, or Butterscotch all that much.

Sitting down for lunch though had given her a chance to force American muggle sweets on her friends who weren't from the muggle side, Hermione having declined the offer when Bella held the bag of assorted sweets out.

The novelty of Hogsmeade was that it was a deviation from the walls of Hogwarts which got a bit old after a while. And since Bella, who got to leave every twenty-four hours to train on the muggle side, saw more of the outside world than the other students, Hogsmeade had to be a reprieve for them.

"Wanna check out the Shrieking Shack?" Bella asked, having recalled hearing about it being 'haunted' and people fearing it. Which made no damn sense since ghosts literally haunted Hogwarts and no one was scared of them. And ghosts couldn't cause harm to anything physical.

Hermione nodded. "It's not the full moon so it would be safer to explore it now instead of waiting for winter or a time closer to Professor Lupin's days off."

And so they went.

It was just a dilapidated house and Bella was kind of ticked that Remus had to stay there at all during his trials. They did find a secret tunnel beneath the house which lead to the Whomping Willow, which probably explained how Remus even got there without anyone in Hogsmeade noticing.

Still, it was pretty boring, and the group found themselves back on the main street of Hogsmeade in no time, intent upon one last trip to Honeydukes before heading back to the school. Bella even remembered to get Luna a box of Milk Chocolate Frogs.

It was a fun day overall.

* * *

Arithmancy was an interesting class to say the least. It wasn't as difficult as Ancient Runes was right from the start, and tended to focus more on numbers than anything else. Though... Arithmancy was like its own language as well. Meanings for everything or course and needing to learn everything. But it used maths for the most part and that was easy for all the muggle-raised students.

Hermione had looked it up and the ratio of Muggleborn/Muggle Raised Arithmancers to Pureblood/Halfblood Arithmancers, was ridiculous. Mathematics weren't taught in a lot of magical households. Just the absolute basics upon basics. The amount of magical people who didn't know maths was astonishing, which was why there were so few Arithmancers and Potioneers. And why most people in those two professions, had a muggle upbringing of a sort. Muggles started Maths very early and required it as part of being able to graduate.

She really liked having a part over the stuffy Purebloods in a way. Another point that would need to be improved upon in the future. Perhaps a primary educational facility would need to be created to prepare kids for Hogwarts?

Their first real assignment of the class, once they got far enough to understand the basics, was to use the  **Agrippan Method**  to find out the values of their names.

Letters of the Latin alphabet were assigned numerical value from 1-9 in Arithmancy.

> **1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9**   
>  **A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I**   
>  **J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R**   
>  **S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z**
> 
> **Character Number:**  To find Your General Personality.
> 
> Hermione Jean Granger  
> 85949655 1515 7915759
> 
> Added together = 106  
> Then each number is added until you get a single digit number.  
> 1+0+6 = 7
> 
> **7:**  Perceptive, understanding, and bright, sevens enjoy hard work and challenges. They are often serious, scholarly, and interested in all things mysterious. Originality and imagination are more important than money and material possessions. Sevens can also be pessimistic, sarcastic, and insecure.
> 
> **Heart Number:**  To Find Your Inner Self.
> 
> Hermione Jean Granger  
> 85949655 1515 7915759
> 
> Reduce to  _only_  the value of the vowels.
> 
> **_e_io_e _ea_ _a_e_**   
>  **5965 51 15**
> 
> Added together = 37  
> 3+7=10  
> 1+0=1
> 
> **1:**  This is the number of the individual, the solitary unit. Ones are independent, focused, and determined. They set a goal and stick to it. They are leaders and inventors. Ones find it difficult to work with others and don't like to take orders. They can be self-centered, egotistical, and domineering. They are often loners.
> 
> **Social Number** : To Find The Face You Show the World.
> 
> Hermione Jean Granger  
> 85949655 1515 7915759
> 
> Reduce to  _only_  the value of the consonants.
> 
> **H_rm_n_ J_n Gr_ng_r**   
>  **8945 15 79579**
> 
> Added together = 69  
> 6+9=15  
> 1+5=6
> 
> **6:**  Six represents harmony, friendship, and family life. Sixes are loyal, reliable, and loving. They adapt easily. They do well in teaching and the arts, but are often unsuccessful in business. They are sometimes prone to gossip and complacency.

Despite being initially put out by some of the details, Hermione had eventually conceded that the majority of the information was correct. Though people could change and she intended to not remain stagnant for any period of time.

But it was ever so fascinating! She'd already figured out the numbers for everyone else in the class.

**Bella for example:**

> **Character Number: Personality**
> 
> **9:**  Represents completion and achievement to the fullest degree (as it is the complete number, three, expressed three times). Nines dedicate themselves to service, often as teachers, scientists, and humanitarians. Strongly determined, they work tirelessly and are an inspiration to others. However, they can also be arrogant and conceited when things don't go their way.
> 
> **Heart Number: Inner Self**
> 
> **5:**  Five is the number of instability and imbalance, indicating change and uncertainty. Fives are drawn to many things at once but commit to none. They are adventurous, energetic and willing to take risks. They enjoy travel and meeting new people but may not stay in one place very long. Fives can be conceited, irresponsible, quick-tempered and impatient.
> 
> **Social Number: Outer Self**
> 
> **4:**  Like a table that rests solidly on four legs, four indicates stability and firmness. Fours enjoy hard work. They are practical, reliable and down to earth; they prefer logic and reason to flights of fancy. They are good at organization and getting things done. Like the cycle of the four seasons, they are also predictable. They can be stubborn, suspicious, overly practical and prone to angry outbursts. The conflicts possible in "two" are doubled in four.

Bella had accepted her numbers very quickly and seemed to shrug off the more blunt points.

Arithmancy was much better than plain old Divination and Hermione could see it  _actually_  helping her in the future.

* * *

Her friends had wished her good luck and Sirius had helped get them a Portkey to Scheffiled without any issue for the British Figure Skating Championships. Bella was finally competing as an Advanced Novice Skater and wanted to treat it properly. Medaling at this particular competition would do big things for her future. It didn't matter which medal she got either, just that she got one.

The hotel they had to stay at was the very first one Bella had been to. It was big and imposing, with decent interior design, though it could be better. Actually, the special trunk that Remus and Sirius had gotten her for Christmas a couple years back had a better interior inside it.

It was a good thing she had it since Aaliyah could get the most basic of rooms and they'd just sleep in the trunk. Bella's costumes had been prepared way ahead of time. Nothing overly fancy of course, but enough to grab attention and keep it. She'd chosen a bright red with gold trimming and glitter so it would flash a lot under specific lighting.

There was a reason for everything in figure skating. Some outfits might appear obscene but were actually very important in the long run. And that always helped set the tone as well.

Unfortunately for Bella, she hadn't had much music to choose from that she could connect to. She'd almost been stuck with Habanera, but managed to narrowly avoid that dark hole others fell into by finding herself entrenched in Antonio Salieri's works. How odd that the dude who literally taught great talent like Beethoven and Liszt got shoved aside and forgotten about by the majority of people.

Anyway, Bella and Aaliyah had worked together really hard to come up good routines for her to perform, Bella getting a bit more creative control as Aaliyah intended for her to. She just had all these ideas and wanted to try them all out! And if they didn't work, then she'd try something else. It didn't hurt to try, and quitting so early on was for those who lacked true dedication.

The competition spanned from 26-30 November. The reason was because there were far more competitors in each division than usual competitions. These were all Britain-centric skaters who came to compete instead of being beat out by others from other nations.

From what Bella had seen in the line up just for the Novice Ladies, there were 36 of them competing. That was why the competition required so many days essentially. She could only imagine what the World Championships would be like when she eventually got to them. Juniors  _or_  Seniors.

Bella was #7 in the line up for the Short Program on the very first day, which was ironic since it was supposed to be the most magically powerful number of all. Good fortune and all that rubbish her Arithmancy professor insisted upon.

Under Aaliyah's direction, she'd brought a notepad in order to make a list of each Ladies Skater in the Novice Division and write down their strengths and weaknesses that she could see. Than Aaliyah would talk to her about it later and help her spot more details so she'd do better later on. Everything was a lesson in figure skating.

The first Novice for the Ladies was up. Her name was Christina Ha and she was two years younger than Bella. She was super adorable and seemed fresh-faced and ready to slay. And then Habanera filtered through the speakers and Bella's interest died immediately. Though to be fair at least, the girl had a great Double Axel.

Two skaters later, and the audience was treated to... as a dedicated skating fan might guess... Habanera again, but this time from Abigail Greene who was a few months younger than Bella was but also had an unfortunate birthday placement so she was stuck as a Novice. Meaning Bella had to pay extra attention to her because they'd be going into Juniors at the same time and knowing her weaknesses would be beneficial.

By the sixth skater, Bella and Aaliyah made their way toward the ice, Bella removing her purple hoodie on the way. Aaliyah handed over a water bottle. "Alright, deep breaths. This is the first truly important competition you'll be in. It's common knowledge you're ready for Juniors, but you need to prove it to anyone else who doubts you. That hey, you're a threat and they shouldn't get complacent."

She nodded and took a quick drink to freshen her mouth up.

The last skater finished up her performance, and the younger skaters took to the ice to pick up all the bouquets and stuffed animals that had been tossed down by the audience. That many gifts meant a dedicated fanbase and such a thing meant there had to be a reason to be a fan. Bella took note of Martha Whitmann and decided to look her up later on to see what good ol' Wikipedia had to say about her. If she even had a Wikipedia page yet.

Bella's Short Program was choreographed to Solieri's Serenade No. 3 in G Major: II. Allegro Assai. It made her think pf Spring, which was essentially the theme of her season. Rebirth.

* * *

**[ RESULT DETAILS]**

**Advanced**  
Novice Ladies -  
Short Program:

**Pl. #1**

**Belladonna POTTER**

**Total Segment Score(TSS):**  44.75 =  **Technical Element Score(TES):**  29.00 +  **Program Component Score(PCS):**  15.75

**[PCS] =** **Skating Skills:**  4.00 +  **Transitions:**  3.80 +  **Performance/Execution:**  4.00 +  **Interpretation:**  3.95

**TOTAL:**  44.75

Bella had broken out the 3T-2T she'd been working on, plus the 3Lz, and the 3A during her performance, which lead to her becoming one of the few Ladies skaters to land a Triple Axel in competition. The only Ladies Novice to do so. And one of the first Ladies skaters in general, to perform three Triple jumps in one Short Program. Bella's Free Program was going to set a lot of records so long as she remained calm and composed and did not over-think or overestimate herself.

And the fact Aaliyah allowed her to make her jumps all Triples was great! After a summer of clean landings, it seemed as if things would be going great!

* * *

"You came out of the Short Program in First place which is pretty good considering you're over eight points above the skater in second place. However, the Free Skate is often where things change up drastically. That eight point margin is going to help you certainly, but you really need to consider your options. You have worked on three versions of difficulty for this program. Do you really want to do the most difficult one just because it has only Triple jumps and will have a higher base score?" Aaliyah asked her ward as they sat down to dinner in a local restaurant that claimed it was Italian.

Bella liked reaching too far too soon. She had a habit of overdoing it and while things worked out most of the time, Aaliyah still couldn't hold back her worries. Even though Bella had magic and super fancy healing that took no longer than a day, Aaliyah was a sane parental figure and didn't like to see Bella hurt herself all for risks that didn't have a guaranteed 100% pay off. No parent or guardian should simply shrug off their charge's lack of care for their own well being.

"My Triples have been consistent," Bella said with a sure nod as she twirled the tines of her fork around her pasta. "I haven't fallen on a Triple jump in three months, which is a big deal. And I'll still get the base points even if I make a mistake and get marked down on Grade Of Execution."

True, but was it truly worth it? In Aaliyah's day - God, she already had a in-her-day thing now, she felt old - PCS was more important than TES, but things were changing and Bella was more influenced by skating rules and regulations from now instead of what Aaliyah was used to.

"If you feel confident, then go ahead, kiddo. If you fall though, we're downgrading half of your jumps to Doubles for the remaining competitions this season."

The teen looked uncertain for a moment, and bit her lip in consideration.

Finally she shook her head. "I'm going through with it. It'll work out, don't worry! I'm basically a Junior in skills by now anyway."

She then chugged the rest of her water and fixed her attention on the rest of her pasta.

* * *

**TOM! I WON GOLD!**

And it was such a big fricken' deal! She was so happy!

_Congratulations. Did you manage to break any records?_

**No. I set some though, which is even better!**

That meant no matter what her name would always be brought up in reference to those records. Even when other people joined her in the numbering, she'd still be first.

Bella would go down in history one way or another. It was times like this in which she was reminded of why she was a Slytherin.

_I'm happy things worked out for you. Was it the hardest version of the routine?_

**Yep!**

_I'm proud of you._

**\O.O/  
**

How dare he be so charming!

* * *

** Figure Skater Cheats With PEDs? **

** By: **  Alex Woodridge

Published on 1/12/13

The British National Figure Skating Championships was this past week and  
many sport-defining moments occurred. The most amazing being from the  
Novice Ladies Skater, Belladonna Pandora Potter, 13. The child not only set  
a record for the most Triple Jumps performed by a lone Ladies Skater in a  
single competition, but she also set the Ladies record for using only Triple  
Jumps in a Free Program, and joined the likes of Midori Ito, Tonya Harding,  
Yukari Nakano, Ludmila Nelidina, Kimmie Meissner, and Mao Asada as the  
only Ladies Skaters to land a Triple Axel Jump in competition.

Spectators and fellow competitors are suspicious however. Potter is only a  
Novice. How could she possibly have the physical ability necessary to pull  
only Triple Jumps and set such records? Many concerned officials and fans  
of skating have weighed in with their thoughts and all ideas seem to point  
toward Performance-Enhancing Drugs.

The teen has been skating since she was seven, and has taken dozens of  
dance classes to help further her training. She's been noted to train every  
single day for hours at a time, and never seems tired or stressed. All this  
points to something else going on.

Or maybe she  _is_  simply that talented. It has also been noted that injuries  
rarely occur for her and she simply gets up and tries again when she falls.  
Maybe this is all just resilience and hard work. However, officials are now  
calling for another drug test now that doubt is being cast upon the results  
of her last one.

How will Belladonna Potter handle this unseemly mark on her reputation?

* * *

"You're telling me you're shocked that a teenager the same age and size as Junior competitors such as Josh Turner and Miriam Morstan who do Triples too, can't possibly be believed to be that skilled?" Aaliyah demanded of the officials, her voice practically ringing with derision.

She was beside herself with rage at how ridiculous everyone was being! "Novice Mens Skater William Hart performed only Triple jumps in his Short Program and his Free was also half Triples. I don't see any of you claiming he was doped, and he's a year younger than Bella! everyone was very ready to award him near-perfect scores despite him falling so much and lacking in Interpretation."

The room was dead silent because she wasn't wrong and they all knew it. The group of officials shared a somewhat reserved look, but refused to admit they weren't being fair. Because God-for-fucking-bid they ever be wrong, right? It didn't escape her notice that a lot of these people were the same ones to always accuse her of doping too.

"She's a Ladies Skater," said Jacob McDermott plainly. His pasty, white face was as bland as ever. "They don't  _have_  that much stamina or physical strength. They are weak. It's suspicious."

"Bella was tested like everyone else. And when she gets tested again and is proven to be clean, you better retract everything you've claimed. We have the resources on our side to go to court over sexism and slander among other things. That shite won't fly in  _this_  century. Trying to ruin her before she can truly begin will cause you many problems."

Aaliyah stomped from the room, more angry than she'd been in years. Bella was going to be heartbroken, and then probably as angry as Aaliyah was. A lamp might even explode again.

* * *

All the preparations were complete. Tom hadn't expected things to take this long, but he was pleased with the results of all his efforts.

Possession wasn't easy, he'd come to learn. Even with someone like Xenophon who was very easy to manipulate, it was difficult and took more magic than he'd anticipated. Also, it wasn't healthy because he was essentially sucking the life out of the man and had been doing it since June.

Half a year and Xenophon, once a tall and broad-shouldered man, had lost much of his muscle and thinned out. When looking in the mirror, Tom saw a gaunt face instead of the full jaw and neck he'd come to expect of his one-time companion.

He'd told Bella that Xenophon would die and he hadn't been lying. His body was literally failing him and he'd finally outlived his use. And Tom felt absolutely no remorse. Xeno hadn't ever been a friend nor a favourite of his. In fact, Tom recalled a time where he'd joined in on the attempted bullying of Tom in his first year.

Spending years getting them to all admire him had been worth it because he got the last laugh in the end. With Xenophon's death, Tom would be the only one left of his very first group of followers.

He had a vault full of money in Gringotts just waiting for him. He had Xeno write up a Will where everything left went to his grandson and then the password blocked vault to Tom. Tom was set to enter Durmstrang as a Fifth Year transfer come January. All would go as planned.

He coaxed Xeno into cutting his palm and allowing the blood to pour over the Diary's opened pages, and the magic within reacted. He found himself standing beside Xeno's slumped over form, in a body of his own that was growing more and more solid by the second until he was once again flesh and blood. And when he looked down, all he could see were the clothes Xenophon had been wearing but no body in sight. Tom had absorbed all of him in exchange.

He felt powerful. He actually had a magical core once again! And it was strong too! He clenched his hands, liking that he had them in the physical sense again.

Also what did he even look like now? Did he even look the same?

Whirling around to find the mirror, he sighed in relief. He looked just like he had the last time he'd seen himself. Though his hair was a lot more light brown than the black that he remembered, his skin far more tanned, and his eyes were more blue than dark. He was basically the same and merely… took on Xenophon's colouring? Was that supposed to happen? He was certain a Horcrux had never freed itself and gotten a body of its own before, so how was he to know?

Anyway, he was still attractive, which was useful considering he would need a pretty face to manipulate people into his favour. The world's weakness for beauty was amusing.

The self-brewed potion for the Blood Test he needed had been ready for six days. All Tom had to do was pour some onto the parchment and drink the rest. He needed a name to give the Goblins when he went to claim the vault that Xenophon had so generously left for him and this might help him choose one.

> **Name:**  ?
> 
> **Born:**  ?
> 
> **Age:**  15
> 
> **Status:**  Halfblood Wizard
> 
> **Mother:**  Merope Gaunt(Pureblood Squib)
> 
> **Mother:**  Violetta Parkinson(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Merida Edgecomb(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Ortolin Smith(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Fomalhauta Black(Pureblood Witch)*
> 
> **Mother:**  Anne Hendricks(Muggle)
> 
> **Mother:**  Marlene McKnight(Muggle)
> 
> **Mother:**  Mary Mangen(Muggle)
> 
> **Father:**  Xenophon Nott(Pureblood Wizard)
> 
> **Father:**  Tom Riddle(Muggle)

Being considered a blood child of Xenophon made sense considering he'd sucked the very life out of him to get a body again, plus used his blood in the last moment as well. But where the bloody hell did all of his supposed extra 'Mothers' come from? He hadn't absorbed any part of them. At least he thought so. He was only possessing Xeno and there had only one of him in that body with Tom.

Unless…

No. His strange words from their teen years couldn't have possibly be true! He didn't honestly think Xeno had found his own method of immortality so he could  _'always follow Tom'_. It seemed too ridiculous to believe!

But how though? Tom shivered in revulsion and felt his stomach turn as ideas popped up.

There was no way all those people had been in Xenophon's blood...

Unless Xenophon was a cannibal and magically made them a part of him forever in order to magically strengthen himself and keep himself youthful.

Suddenly Tom was vomiting all over the marble floors of the ritual chamber, an activity he surely had not missed.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](http://tryredemption.com/ac/)]** The website I used for the Arithmancy numbers and explanations. Find yours!
> 
> *****  Fomalhauta Black is a reference to a character in a Harrymort fic I'm reading by **samvelg**. [The Historical Importance of Runic War Warding in the British Isles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14695419?view_full_work=true)

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school year continues and certain plans start moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I don't know shit about Runes. Fair warning for those who do. I tried my  
> best. I'm sorry.
> 
> -I have the next two chapters already written!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"I can't believe I have to get all these tests done just because people can't use common fucking sense," Bella griped as she slouched in her chair.

Aaliyah nodded in perfect understanding. "It happens a lot more than people want to admit it does. I got accused of it a lot too because I'm built like Surya Bonaly **[1]**  instead of the super dainty figures they expect of Ladies Skaters. They want us to have physical power to pull off amazing stunts but don't want that power obvious because they think it makes us look too masculine and therefore unappealing. AKA, not beautiful."

She'd always had strong thighs and arms. Aaliyah was built thick and despite many claiming she  _'couldn't possibly perform the soft and emotional performances like her teammates'_  and basically other Ladies Skaters in order to convey story properly, she'd proven the haters wrong time and again.

"I'm literally the same age as starting Juniors are!" Bella said. "I'll be legally fourteen when I join the Juniors group officially! It's common maths. If Junior Ladies can do Triple Jumps of all sorts, why can't I? I've worked really hard to get all those Triples down, especially the Combos. My hips weren't perpetually bruised for weeks for all that effort to go down the drain."

And the bruises lasting that long had been because she'd fallen so much, and just as she'd come in the next day, her Healing ability had only almost finished healing said bruises up. So there would still be some lingering green across the skin, and then she'd fall and hit the boards and the bruises would darken again in a vicious cycle.

Bella had been uploading proof of her practice onto her YouTube channel. They'd made certain to get close shots of Bella's work to keep the fans entertained. Fans got to see the falls as well as the landings. They saw the progress first hand.

It was at least a small relief that the Bellas had the teen's side and believed the accusations to be utter tripe. There had been nothing but a flood of support from them on Bella's training videos. They encouraged her to just keep practicing and eventually it would all blow over, because that was technically what happened every time there was some kind of controversy.

Still, it would leave a mark of a sort.

Bella didn't deserve this. Novice Mens Skaters sometimes did Triples too and were rarely accused of taking PEDs. It was unfair that Bella, already the age of a Junior Skater, was being treated so terribly because people didn't want to believe she had the skills she demonstrated.

Performance-Enhancing Drugs didn't enhance performance all that much! Her Jumps had been flawless and points had only been added to them! There'd been praise for her self-control. Doping did not give skaters perfect control of their movement!

And even more aggravating was that like everyone else, Bella had to give them her mandatory drug test results. She'd already done it before the competition began. It had been taken care of and they'd been assured that everything was fine.

But now they wanted someone they hired to put Bella through some ridiculous tests just to prove if she deserved her victory. And it wasn't just the drug test itself. Bella had to also repeat her programs and if she managed exactly as she had in the competition and her results came back negative, then everything would be dropped.

Aaliyah patted the girl's shoulder. "It'll all work out, kiddo. You're paranoid about taking drugs of any sort and you work really hard. You have literally nothing to hide from them."

Of course even when the results came back and she was proven to not be a cheater, there would still always be people in full belief that she was a cheater and couldn't be trusted. The only thing they could hope for was for the ones who started the rumour to get what they deserved. And she had a feeling Sirius would gladly step in to do something about that.

"Except the whole being a witch thing."

"Yeah, well, there's no way they're gonna find that out from your blood or urine. You even asked Professor Snape if there is a difference between magical and non-magical blood in terms of structure and he said no. Things will be fine eventually."

They had to be.

* * *

"Your test came out negative yesterday. The results for today's test are pending. In the meantime, you will perform your Short and Free Programs exactly as before and we will determine how well you do compared to your test results. You will be tested finally tomorrow just to be sure. If all three tests and redos of your programs prove your innocence, the accusations will be dropped," the NISA official stated as she adjusted her glasses. Beside her sat four other officials ready to act as judges.

Bella grumbled to herself as she got into position. She'd gone for ultimate difficulty in both programs and now had to redo them. Yesterday's drug test proved she wasn't doped. Todays would certainly prove it as well, and she knew tomorrow's would too. She was just annoyed that this had to happen at all.

Salieri's music began and once again, Bella repeated her Short Program exactly as she'd performed it at Nationals, and they even recorded it for their files!

The judges were all stone-faced as they regaled her with their observations and points. Which basically ended up being the same as what she'd scored in competition. Her jumps were still perfect and she even received a higher GOE for each, than she had at Nationals!

She was then given an hour of time to rest before doing her Free Skate for them.

In the end, Bella's score ended up being higher than what she got at Nationals. And on top of that, her drug test came out negative again. Just one more drug test to go and this whole thing would be behind her.

Her subscribers were also waiting for some kind of conclusion to this drama. They wanted her to speak up about it, and Bella really wanted to explode on people, but that was not the proper way to go.

If she couldn't control her temper in this most crucial moment, it would make her look bad in the long run. She had to play up the offended and innocent character more than ever before in order to guilt-trip people into feeling bad for her. After all, there was proof of her hard work all over her personal channel. The viewers got to see her work all the time. They even got the examples of her mistakes!

The best thing to do was be gracious and kind. In the end, the fans(hers and others in general), would criticise NISA and not her. That was what she was aiming for.

"Thank you for your time," she told the officials with a kind tone that she did in no way feel on the inside. Judging by their faces, they picked up on that fact very easily.

She honestly didn't care.

* * *

**To Heir Nott,**

**We regret to inform you that your grandfather, Lord Nott, has passed away**  
**suddenly. However, he did leave a Will naming you and another as the sole**  
**beneficiaries of his worldly possessions. When convenient, please present**  
**yourself to your Gringotts Account Manager for more details on your new**  
**and incoming responsibilities as Lord Nott.**

**Sincerely,**  
**Orkvauchen,**  
**Gringotts Senior Account Manager**

Theo stared at the short and concise letter in aw. His grandfather had truly been ill and he had died. He'd only just reached middle age for a wizard too! He looked like he did when he was in his twenties though! How did he just randomly die all of a sudden? Things like that didn't just happen to people!

And he'd done something to make Theo Lord before he reached his majority at seventeen?

It all made no sense to him!

* * *

"Where's this from?" Bella asked of the purple and silver striped present sitting at the end of her bed. It hadn't been there that morning that was for certain. She would have noticed such glorious colours if it had been. Would have opened it first too. While getting Cluedo, Exploding Snap, and a new camera were great, the wrappings on this gift were just more appealing.

"No clue," was Aaliyah's  _oh so helpful_  answer. "It came with an owl that didn't even linger for a treat. Sirius  _did_  give it a look over though and determined that it won't do you any harm, so why not accept it?"

Free stuff was free stuff. Who was Bella to question the ways of the universe when they decided to give her free stuff?

Bella shrugged and grabbed the box. It was a shame the wrappings were so shiny and sparkly and she was poor at removing the paper. She would have kept some not-ruined paper otherwise. Could have probably re-purposed it.

Oh, it hurt just sliding her finger under the tape!

_Rip!_

Bella stared down at a black box no longer than her forearm. And inside ended up being a single book titled,  **Introducing Your Muggle Spouse to Magic: Laws, History, and Inclusion**  by Boromir Johnson. A small card of dark green stock with the golden letters  **Дурмстранг**  on the face, was being used as a bookmark for Pg. 105.  **Chapter 10: 21st Century Changes in Magical Britain**.

She pulled up Google Translate and proceeded to very poorly draw the characters of the foreign word into the provided box. What she got was ' **Durmstrang** '.

Fucking Tom had sent her a book on how to integrate a muggle spouse into the magical world? Bella wasn't getting married!

"So what is it?" Aaliyah asked.

And there it was.  _Aaliyah_  was getting married to Deborah and eventually the woman would finally get to be told about magic thanks to the spousal connection she and Aaliyah would share. Tom was helping prepare them all for it.

That was actually kind of sweet of him and Bella was never going to let him live it down! He was helping Bella's family in his own way.

"Something you'll need," she told her guardian, handing the book over. "Make sure you study up good."

* * *

** SKATING CONTROVERSY AVERTED? **

**By:**  Alex Woodridge

Published on 28/12/13

If you'll recall, I wrote an article about Belladonna Potter, the Ladies Novice  
Skater who won gold at the British Nationals this past November. After she  
skated a near-flawless Free Program, questions began to arise over how a  
Novice could even be capable of such skills. Accusations of doping and use  
of Performance-Enhancing Drugs began to circulate as the skating fans and  
officials demanded answers.

To put the rumours to rest, Potter agreed to go through a series of tests to  
determine her innocence and skill level. She was given a drug test, which  
came back negative. The next day she was tested again, and then told to  
repeat her Short and Free Programs for a select panel of judges from the  
National Ice Skating Association. She scored even higher than she had in  
competition, plus the results of her drug test came back negative. Finally,  
the next day she was given the last drug test which was also negative. It  
is as stated, Belladonna Potter is simply  _that_  talented of a skater.

However that isn't to say the issue is over. Potter took to her own vlog on  
YouTube to talk about the issue with her fans. It was noted that one of the  
reasons she was accused of cheating was because she's female and in the  
words of Jacob McDermott, a long-time judge for NISA, "They don't have  
_that_  much stamina or physical strength. They are weak. It's suspicious."

Potter's guardian/coach, Aaliyah Michaels, apparently told the officials of  
Potter's age being that of a starting Junior Skater. She remarked on how  
none of the Novice Mens Skaters were accused of doping when they too  
performed Triple Jumps. No response was given to that observation.

When I attempted to reach out to Jacob McDermott, he declined to give  
us answers. That speaks of guilt and a poor attempt to hide his frankly  
out-dated point of view. It should be noted that McDermott's youngest  
son is also a skater who's the same age, in the Mens Novice Division and  
he finished in 23rd place for the Mens Skaters, compared to Potter who  
was in 1st for the Ladies. That just speaks of jealousy to this journalist.

Through it all, Belladonna Potter maintained a calm and aloof character  
which saw her channel expanding by several thousand subscribers in a  
few days. She is just shy of 300,000 subscribers now. Subscribe  **[** HERE **]**  
for regular updates to her skating life and habits.

I wish Ms. Potter all the luck in the rest of the season and am excited  
to see her compete in the Junior Division  _next_  season!

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of Winter, when Voldemort realised that he had company in his forest. A very familiar forest indeed. Albania had been critical in his magical growth as a wizard. During his travels he'd learned many things.

It started with the whimpering. He could hear the squeaky whimpering of some human nearby, followed by the bumbling steps of said human. Beside them however, was a more light-footed gait of someone who made no other sounds as they walked.

When he slithered around the trunk of a massive tree, he found a sight he hadn't expected for some time.

Bellatrix Lestrange, looking far more gaunt than she used to and lacking any of her former beauty as a daughter of House Black, was holding up her wand as she crept across the forest floor, a powerful  _Lumos_  illuminating the darkness. And beside her, shivering and hunched over even worse than the last time Voldemort had laid eyes on him, was Peter Pettigrew who appeared to be near tears.

"Cease your sniveling, Petey! The Dark Lord does not suffer cowards!" his former student hissed, her teeth nearly blackened from years without cleaning in Azkaban. She looked a right mess. An embarrassing mess that was considered one of his finest fighters. He was mortified at what had become of her. Voldemort cared naught for Wormtail's well being though.

Voldemort hissed at them from where he rested, and both whirled around to stare down at him with equally horrified gazes. Probably because he'd managed to sneak up on them.

"N-nice snake," Wormtail whimpered, holding his hand out as if it would keep him at bay. "G-good snake."

He'd accepted this buffoon as one of his followers? Really? Was he truly so desperate a decade ago that he settled for this fool?

Bellatrix cooed, breaking into a wide smile, showing off her ruined teeth once more. "The Dark Lord would love to have you as a pet!"

His head reared back threateningly and he made direct eye contact with the obviously mad witch.  _Don't you dare, Bellatrix,_  he spoke, forcing his words directly into her mind.

She stiffened for a few seconds, before throwing herself to her knees. "My Lord! It has been so long, my Lord! I managed to free myself and Wormtail so we may aid you in your return to power!" Her voice was full of reverence and wonder.

Her dedication was very useful he had to admit.

Wormtail's shivering increased tenfold even as he too fell to his knees beside his superior. He looked far less happy about the turn of events. Voldemort knew he was never truly loyal to anyone or anything. Wormtail was a coward who went to anyone who seemed capable of protecting him and at present, Voldemort was his best bet.

After betraying his former friends and getting caught, the Light wouldn't take his side, so all he had left was Voldemort.

The Dark Lord would greatly enjoy tormenting him with the reality of his situation in the days to come.

Bellatrix looked up, and allowed her storm grey eyes to make contact with his own slitted pupils once more.

_We have much to discuss,_  he told her.  _I want to know everything you've learned over the past twelve years, my faithful._

"Yes, my Lord. Though I fear you will not accept my words very well. Much has happened and most recently, things have begun to change in Magical Britain," she said, looking uneasy now. Meaning whatever she knew, wasn't good and would most likely enrage him. 'Twas a good thing for Wormtail that Voldemort didn't have a wand at present, but that would be remedied soon enough now that he had foot soldiers to order about once more.

_You both will tell me anyway,_  he ordered sternly.

"As you wish it, my Lord."

* * *

So many names to choose from.

Maas Nacht had a nice ring to it, but he ended up settling for Tomas Night. While Tom  _could_  learn to feign a German accent, he didn't want to. And he certainly didn't want to use either Gaunt or Riddle as surnames. He could still speak Parseltongue and he was attractive, which was good enough for him. He didn't need any other connection to his true parents. Bella had already agreed to ignore any mention of another Gaunt relation and to not claim him or even look into him. She'd been confused but agreed to his request.

Since the basic Blood Test revealed him to be 15 that would technically make his birthday 31 December 1997. It was mid-January right now, and he'd just 'turned sixteen'. He was about to head on over to Durmstrang where Headmaster Igor Karkaroff would become his new guardian until he was seventeen.

Tom may or may not have sent him a letter under the guise of Xenophon, explaining that he'd been charged with secretly raising the Dark Lord's son and it was time for Karkaroff to pay for what he'd done. The man had Flooed over to Nott Manor and Tom, controlling Xenophon, and forced him into an Unbreakable Vow to not reveal Tom's fake parentage to anyone and to become his guardian when Tom came to the school with the paperwork from the Goblins.

His visit to the Goblins had been enlightening. When he'd offered the password to the vault, he'd shocked the Goblin in question. He then extracted some money and paid for an official, Goblin-sanctioned Blood Test.

The results were basically the same with only a few changes.

> **Name:**  Tomas Night
> 
> **Born:**  31 December 1997
> 
> **Age:**  16
> 
> **Status:**  Halfblood Wizard
> 
> **Mother:**  Merope Gaunt(Pureblood Squib)
> 
> **Mother:**  Violetta Parkinson(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Merida Edgecomb(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Ortolin Smith(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Fomalhauta Black(Pureblood Witch)
> 
> **Mother:**  Anne Hendricks(Muggle)
> 
> **Mother:**  Marlene McKnight(Muggle)
> 
> **Mother:**  Mary Mangen(Muggle)
> 
> **Father:**  Xenophon Nott(Pureblood Wizard)
> 
> **Father:**  Tom Riddle Snr.(Muggle)

He would suppose that the ritual Xenophon used to remain forever young was beneficial in a way. A sacrifice every ten years to keep physical youth. It also killed the the reproductive ability of the body and that meant that Xeno wouldn't have been able to have more children. Otherwise those children would have also been marked as the children of the various women Tom was now supposedly related to. And that would have caused a mess and seen Xeno in Azkaban for the rest of his prolonged life.

Oh, the drama it caused when he was revealed to be related to so many families and how much they all wanted to shut him up but  _not accept him_  into their families! Luckily for them, he didn't really want to be a part of their families anyway, he just wanted their money. And what a load of money he now had to his name in his new vault gifted to him so generously by the late Xenophon Nott!

He had enough gold to live a comfortable life now. If he wanted to exist while doing nothing else of substance that is.

Tom was pretty set for the future and was certain he would be able to find his own plans.

With a deep breath, he stepped through the green flames and smiled charmingly when he laid eyes on his other's self's follower. "Nice you meet you, sir. I'm Tomas Night." An ever so polite greeting from the 'son' of a madman would unnerve him all the more especially considering Voldemort's reputation and what assumptions his followers must have made about him.

Karkaroff's muted horror was amusing! He'd sold his comrades out in order to escape imprisonment and yet his past had come crawling back. At least in his mind. And he was trapped once more in Lord Voldemort's clutches! Tom had always loved ruining people's lives if he felt they deserved it. This was going to benefit him greatly.

And he he would slowly and carefully work over Karkaroff and the rest of the Durmstrang students into admiring him. And if Voldemort ever managed to regain a human form again, he wouldn't find any followers here.

The main plan was to see Voldemort's power removed on all levels. Once he could no longer darken the world with his dramatics, then Tom could proceed to his own plans.

* * *

"Valentine's Day!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her face back into her book. She'd never gotten the interest in the holiday and didn't feel like dealing with it. She didn't even like chocolate or flowers all that much and those were basically what companies and big manufacturers liked to push down everyone's throats. A nice scam to make some extra money.

Parkinson had given Draco Malfoy heart eyes all morning, and he'd done nothing but give Bella a box of chocolates. Bella had obviously accepted them because they were free and were chocolate and she liked both of those things when rolled into one. She then told the blond not to expect love declarations from her and that she wasn't interested in relationships at all.

He'd left her alone after that which made him a little more likable in Hermione's eyes.

Hermione got to watch as each of her friends gave something away. Bella said she was taking a part of the Japanese version to heart - "giri-choco" which was like obligatory chocolate to friends and such - and was gifting every one of her friends something  _they_  liked just for friendship's sake. Hermione got some sugar free ginger biscuits compared to everyone else in the group that got chocolate chip biscuits. All had been made at home and then brought back.

Blaise had given Bella a pink sugar quill, Luna gave Prunella a pair of red earrings she'd made herself out of dirigible plums, which showed her interest that Prunella didn't seem to notice at all. Theo had given Neville a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, not that she was shocked since he hadn't been very subtle either. Neville had given Luna a mini cake from Hogsmeade and was told very kindly but clearly that he was a ' _good friend_ '. Fred and George Weasley showered Bella in variegated carnations. Ronald Weasley ruined his sister Ginny's attempt at giving Prunella a singing card, leaving her to run away with a red face while the card bellowed Ginny's admiration for the Hall to hear.

It was all one big mess. People fancied someone who didn't fancy them in return and sometimes fancied another. Being a teenager was so stressful with all of this going on!

Lavender Brown had broken up with her boyfriend just yesterday and now she glared daggers at everyone who so much as greeted her. Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff was rumoured to be interested in Cho Chang of Ravenclaw but neither of them were doing anything about it. Daphne Greengrass had been swamped with offers all morning as shown by how many owls bombarded her at breakfast. She'd turned everything away without a second glance and stuck her nose up at anyone who dared come near.

A mess. A great, big mess was what it was. Hermione detested all of it.

"You okay, Mione?" asked Bella quietly, looking minutely concerned as she unwrapped another box of chocolates. Her green eyes sparkled in the light of the sun streaming in through the windows.

"This whole holiday annoys me."

Bella popped a caramel/chocolate ball into her mouth and nodded. "Gotta love the day-after sales though. Chocolate for cheaper than it normally is, is the best kind of chocolate right next to free chocolate."

"Are you planning to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Hermione chose to ask, wanting the conversation to go elsewhere.

"It's a free day as well as Hogsmeade Day. No you-know-what on Sundays. Since I can't stand doing nothing of substance, I'll be heading down to check out the discounts on the Valentine's Day chocolates."

Always with the chocolate with Bella!

"I then have to finish that Ancient Runes assignment."

Hermione's mouth dropped in horror. "You haven't even done it yet?"

"I  _started_  it."

Oh good Merlin, not this again. "Bella," she said imploringly, pitching her voice down to give them some privacy, "we're literally given extra time for a reason. You shouldn't put off your work when you don't have to."

"But see, I only have to finish it," Bella stated with a grin. "It was just to make a protective ward on something you wear. I chose stitching since I took a class in it. It's just time-consuming, but I have most of it done. I got a normal, white t-shirt in a muggle store, and then stitched the runic circle in red, onto the front so it's look like something a dramatic teen would wear and no one would really care about. The ward I chose was anti-fire because anti-water would be a bit obvious if I wore it in the muggle world. More chances of being hit by water than by fire over there."

That was something at least. Hermione had finished hers on the first night. She'd bought a plain locket at one of the shops in Hogsmeade and then engraved a minuscule but still powerful runic circle on it. Her work would repel petrifying charms and disarming charms.

The sound of Bella's actually seemed more advanced though. Carving was a bit easier than embroidery.

"It'll be fine, Mione. You don't  _need_  to be the absolute best at every single thing. Divination should have taught you that by now."

"Ugh! Don't even get me started on that rubbish course."

"And yet you love Arithmancy."

"It uses numbers and pure facts to draw conclusions though! And for the most part all the predictions are generally correct!"

And so continued an argument about how much more useful Arithmancy was, even though Bella wasn't necessarily disagreeing with her.

* * *

**Amara,**

**I may have bitten off more than I can chew! I am taking every available course**  
**this school year and there's more work than I anticipated! To make things even**  
**worse, CoMC and Divination are dreadfully dull! I haven't been this aggravated**  
**in a long time!**

**I just want to do well! I want to know everything there is to know about magic!**

**Anyway, how are things going for you now that you've been revealed to have a**  
**talent in Potions? Are you getting tutored in it? Will your parents join in? Do you**  
**like making Potions? I find it to be a very relaxing class, which is odd since most**  
**of the other students do not agree with me!**

**Potions are easy to me and yet I'm a terrible cook. How is that possible?**

**How are Crookshanks and Aoife doing? Did they have a litter yet? Bella thought**  
**they might not get on as much as they were leading us to believe.**

**Hoping things are going well for you and your family,**  
**Mione.**

* * *

"Ms. Potter, present your project, please," Professor Babbling ordered softly as she stepped aside to free up the space in the center of the class.

Bella grabbed the shirt she'd worked on, and levitated it so everyone in the room could see it. On the front was a runic circle in red stitching across the white fabric. She'd even gone so far as to double up just to be on the safe side, so there wasn't just a single circle, there was a smaller one inside it.

She'd used Eihwaz as her primary base, followed by Algiz then Eihwaz again, and then Sowilo. The order was repeated multiple times with only a single strand of red connecting each Rune. She'd been told some time ago that colours had power in magic, and red was one of the most powerful of all, which was why she'd chosen it.

The second circle was more clustered and that was where it became obvious that she'd lost some interest. Unlike the first circle where everything was evenly spaced and of equal length, the inner circle varied in space, length, and neatness. However there was still magic in the thread because she'd specifically channeled it through the needle while working, which had been hard.

Metals, especially those shaped without magic, weren't the best at conducting magic at all. That was why wands tended to be made of wood extracted by magical means. So treating the needle like a mini wand had been difficult in and of itself.

She'd thought it would be easy. Embroidery wasn't that difficult if one has taken a class on how to do it. But she'd forgotten to factor in the fact that channeling magic through other foci wasn't easy. They hadn't really been taught that yet so it wasn't really her fault that she hadn't considered it first.

Bella got schooled in the most annoying way possible, basically. Failure.

"I wanted to make it fireproof. Fires are a pretty big danger on the muggle side since they can't just magic them away with some summoned dirt or water."

Reaching into her pocket, she extracted a zippo she'd nicked from Sirius' office. He wouldn't notice it was gone if she put it back by the end if the day so it was fine.

The moment the fire appeared within inches of the shirt, the red thread turned a bright, glowing white and the entire garment followed suit. When Bella placed the fire directly against the right sleeve, the fabric merely hung in place and nothing happened. She tried the other sleeve, then the hem, and as expected, nothing happened.

When the zippo was pulled at least an arm's length away, the glowing ceased.

Professor Babbling applauded and leaned over the shirt to get a better look at Bella's work, adjusting her spectacles. "Protection from the elements can be very difficult to defend against when one doesn't have a wand to cast spells. Runes have the potential to be very dangerous because they are a type of magic you could perform without a wand, meaning the Trace would not be able to notice it and the Ministry could not punish you for it."

How useful. Like Potions actually. A nice piece of information if Bella needed it for the future.

"My grading is always a bit different from others, as you all know. You start off with an Outstanding if you've simply done the work, and then your grade lowers depending on the faults I spot within it. Ms. Potter, your stitching is sloppy in the second circle. I can see some of the loops were not pulled tight enough where your attention waned. That brings the grade down to an Exceeds Expectations. However…"

Bella's sudden sadness halted before it could truly weigh her down.

"...stitching Runes is more difficult than writing them down with simple ink and that isn't introduced until your fifth year. You went above and beyond expectations and skill level, and for that I will award you an Outstanding. Well done. However, the next time you find yourself growing tired, take a break and come back to it. Don't try to force it all in one day."

"Yes, professor!"

Bella beamed as she took her project back to her seat, feeling accomplished and proud all at once.

Hermione ended up going right after her and she got an Outstanding too when her locket not only stopped the disarming charm, but also the petrifying charm at the same time! It was said to be difficult to get a Runic Circle to work toward two separate purposes at once. As usual, Hermione had basically done extra credit. Like in every other class she took.

She deserved it though. It was pretty awesome to have jewelry that could protect you in times of need. It'd be even more awesome if they could find some way to channel the Runes toward reacting to intent such as intent to harm in  _non_ -magical ways. Like rape.

If anyone could do it, it'd be Hermione.

* * *

Watching as their Lord created a new form for himself, even if it wasn't human, was impressive and also disgusting. He called it a Homunculus and he'd needed their help in gathering the materials for it. As a snake he didn't have arms and therefore couldn't do anything on his own, but with Bellatrix and Peter at his beck and call, he was capable of more.

Not for the first time in the last decade, Peter wondered if he'd truly chosen the correct side. The Dark Lord was weak at present and his plans didn't seem to be well thought out as of late.

He looked like a deformed baby with sagging, leathery skin and eyes far too large for the small head they were set in. Almost like a House elf. And the worst part of it all was that Peter was being forced to carry him around as well as help him milk the bloody snake he'd insisted upon bringing along!

Bellatrix said Peter had to be the their Lord's guard while she worked. And in all honesty, she was better at magic than he, so it was best that she handle acquiring the materials their Lord requested of them.

But that meant leaving him alone with the Dark Lord who made demands of him that he wasn't ready to fulfill!

He wanted to know about current events, and instead of Bellatrix telling him, it had to be Peter! She was the one who offered to tell him so why was Peter being forced to do it? And furthermore, why was he being berated every time he said something the Dark Lord didn't like?

It wasn't Peter's fault that Belladonna Potter was considered the Gaunt Heiress and therefore was the Slytherin Heiress by default! It wasn't his fault that his Lord had living family he hadn't known about! It was not his fault that Lord Voldemort didn't attempting to claim Lordship of his family if it was at all possible for him years ago.

"She will die," the Homunculus promised in a whispery tone, its knobby fingers curling into fists. "And if things don't go as planned, Wormtail, you will suffer for it."

Why him? He wasn't the only one involved in this!

But Bellatrix was better at magic than him and their Lord might consider her to be more useful. Meaning Peter needed to prove his use. He needed to do something impressive! He had nowhere else to go! He didn't want to die nor did he want to go back to Azkaban! It was horrible there! So very cold and left him feeling haunted.

"My Lord, I have returned!" Bellatrix crooned from a distance as she held up a small pouch presumably filled with Galleons. Her smile and eyes were full of the madness her family was known for and she looked to be vibrating with excitement.

"My most loyal," the Lord answered in return, extending his hand to make a 'come hither' motion.

She fell to her knees before them, but her eyes were only for the Homunculus. "Yes, my Lord?"

"I need my wand."

And inspiration struck him in that moment! "I can retrieve it, my Lord," Peter offered. "My Animagus form would allow me to get in and out of the Ministry with ease." He  _needed_  to prove that he was more useful than Bellatrix!

The woman did not miss the desperation in his voice and narrowed her eyes at him, making his shiver with unease.

"Yes," their Lord murmured in consideration, "that would certainly be a simple enough task for you, Wormtail. Very well. Obtain my wand and I shall remember your service when I am whole once more."

* * *

"Did you hear what James Potter is up to?"

Bella's immediate response was to groan because she'd gone so long without really having to give him any kind of thought and now here he was, disturbing the peace. "What did he do now?"

Theo held up The Daily Prophet that had been dumped on them all at breakfast. "He's petitioning for a rehauling of Azkaban and the justice system of Magical Britain. He's revealed a very in depth description of what happens behind those big walls and it's pretty horrible."

"But they're criminals," she pointed out. "They're the ones to land themselves in there."

Theo's face twisted up a bit. "Yes, but to different extremes. I think we all assumed that you know, murderers and terrorists get like maximum security and are treated more dangerously, but that's not the case. Everyone gets the same treatment even if it's simply tax evasion or getting caught Apparating while not having a license.

"This includes guards ' _forgetting_ ' to bring meals when they're supposed to bring three a day on schedule. No showering or even cleansing charms the entire duration of the sentence. No change of clothing allowed. Nowhere to put waste and it's left to sit for days before it's cleaned up. Dementors coming in whenever they want to feed off the prisoners and sometimes they feed too much but the guards don't care. Sometimes the guards go into the cells to ' _have fun_ ' with the prisoners though the ' _fun_ ' in question was not specified. It sounds horrific."

Their entire group had gone pale as the descriptions built upon each other, painting and even worse portrait than before.

Hermione was the most horrified, but that was probably because she probably knew the most about the muggle justice system and while it wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination, it wasn't  _that_  bad. "That's completely inhumane!" she insisted, flustered and annoyed. "The punishment should fit the crime! The bloody hell is wrong with magical humans?" It even got  _Hermione_  to swear.

Bella could only imagine not being allowed to bathe for any amount of time. Or deliberately being starved as punishment for something as simple as Apparition without proper licensing. That was like a week in Azkaban. And the Aurors were simply allowed to do that and not be held accountable? And what exactly were they doing to the inmates that was considered 'fun'? That sounded fifty shades of fucked up.

"Rita Skeeter, despite not liking Potter at all and being all too glad to tear him down in recent years, teamed up with him. She got in there without anyone noticing her presence somehow, and had managed to gather a plethora of information and photos that will see the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in hot water for some time to come. Now that many families are aware of the exact extent of how their family members are being treated, this will not go over well. And since it's all happening under Fudge's leadership, he'll take the blame for it and most likely won't be re-elected in the coming years. He'll be up for it but he won't be chosen."

Theo gestured to the front page which sported a photo of Azkaban itself. It was a tall and imposing, triangular fortress in the middle of a roaring sea, and black blurs flew past it too quickly to be spotted, but Bella knew what they were just by the description she'd read about them. Dementors. And there were tonnes of them!

"And  _James_  is the one to bring this up?" she asked, feeling a bit shocked at the level of maturity from him. He'd never demonstrated anything else to her before so this was new.

"I was shocked too. He seems horrified that he never noticed this while he was an Auror and thinks it needs fixing. I don't like him but I can't argue with his reasoning. He's even willing to donate to the cause to make this work."

Even horrible people were capable of acts of decency now and then. Bella needed to remember that.

She just wondered if this was actually going to do anything useful? Or would they need to change the DMLE entirely too?

Also, it seemed as if Hermione was given just another thing to study up on if her mad scribbling in her own notebook was anything to go by. Their community needed change in the worst of ways. It was kinda sad.

* * *

"Is that a cake?" Neville asked the moment she plopped into a chair at their usual study table. And indeed, he was not wrong. She had brought a massive cake from back home.

"Cookie Butter Cake," she specified. "Pre-sliced."

The look Hermione sent her was just full of judgment, but Bella was not moved. It was technically her fourteenth birthday on this fourth day of March in the year 2014, and she was allowed to celebrate! She'd been living so many double days that her fourteenth birthday came a lot earlier than it would on the calendar and she was in a partying mood without the need for noise!

Also any excuse to have sweets was a good one!

She whipped out a stack of paper plates and forks from her bag and passed them around to everybody. "Take a piece, there's enough for all of us to have one."

"Any reason for this?" Blaise asked as he happily took a piece for himself, no doubt remembering the personal cake she'd gotten him some time ago. This one was the same kind.

Luna hummed. "It's someone's birthday somewhere, so we might as well celebrate them." She sent Bella a very telling look while grabbing her own slice. Bella's face was a perfect mask of innocence.

"Mione, would you like to lose your cake virginity to the best cake in the world?" Bella asked, wiggling her brows suggestively and making Neville choke on his own bite, his face flaming.

Their most studious friend sighed and took the piece offered. "No need to be so dramatic."

"Drama is essentially the life of figure skating, Mione."

Theo looked around covertly. "How did you sneak that in here? Pince would kill us if she saw it."

"Magic, my good friend. Magic."

Really she had just walked in and found Madam Pince missing from her desk, but being vague was more fun!

"Tuck in, my dudes!" And eat quickly just in case.

* * *

**How's everything going, Tom?**

It had been a while since she'd gotten to talk to him because of so much going on in both of their lives recently! But Bella wanted to keep up with him because he had important things to see to as well.

_Well enough. I'm studying for my O.W.L.s. A lot has changed but I've managed to_  
_compartmentalise it all and have been practicing nonstop. I am top of my year and_  
_I've only been in the school for a month by now._

That really wasn't anything shocking. The way Tom talked made him sound like and old man who'd seen the worst the world had to offer. He sounded like the kind of person young people would ignore the moment he began talking.

When Tom was actually old he was going to be the best at dealing with kids if he built up enough resistance to Bella's attitude and teasing.

**Yeah, I heard about Theo's gramps dying all of a sudden. What happened to**  
**him? He was apparently in super good health and I don't know how you got**  
**him to just keel over.**

_Possession is a very dangerous thing for the possessed person, Bella. Did you notice_  
_how your Professor Quirrell seemed to be in poor health in the last few weeks before_  
_his death?_

Actually, yes. The twitchy, little prick had been all out of sorts and very forgetful. Or perhaps he'd been using that as an excuse to hide the true reality of what was going on.

If Voldemort was on the back of his head, ordering him around, then it only made sense.

**Yeah. He got all thin and haggard. His breathing was pretty bad too! I had**  
**never seen someone look so shitty before.**

_Imagine that happening. I was basically sucking the life and soul out of him. There_  
_wasn't much left by the time I was finished with him but he did grace me with a lot_  
_of energy._

It didn't sound like a very pleasant way to go.

Which meant it was utterly perfect for the arsehole!

**Would that have happened to me if you were able to cling to my soul like**  
**you originally intended to?**

_Yes. Not to the same degree thanks to your natural youth, but about the same._

**Damn. Cutthroat. At least you're being honest about it, and I can get it to**  
**an extent. It makes sense and I should probably feel bad for him but Nott**  
**Snr was an arsehole so idc. He got what he deserved and there is always**  
**someone bigger and badder waiting in the wings.**

_Indeed. I had him cut his hand and then his blood was soaked into the pages, and as_  
_you know, there is much magical power in someone's blood, which is why it's guarded_  
_so closely. I fully solidified and he wasted away into nothing. Unfortunately, I had to_  
_learn some awkward pieces of information afterward and they made me ill._

What could truly be awkward to Tom? He was a guy who relentlessly tortured his fellow orphans for bullying him. Who taunted and possibly tortured his fellow Housemates for bullying him. Who used a little girl's death to make himself immortal in a way, even if he did it wrong. He was pretty sturdy in terms of fortitude. What could render Tom ill?

**Such as?**

_Xenophon was so obsessed with me (my other self I suppose) that he decided he'd_  
_serve me (Voldemort) forever. So he acquired his own method of immortality which_  
_requires a sacrifice every decade in order to maintain youth. However it involves_  
_cannibalism._

Nope! She got his disgust now!

Bella could handle a lot of things. Horror and Suspense Thrillers were even her favourite kinds of films! She could watch tonnes of them forever! She even liked Hannibal Lecter in all iterations he came in, including the recent television one!

But Xenophon Nott was actually a real dude, who ate  _real_  people, not some fan-re-made version of a fictional character who was a somewhat campy drama queen/psychological manipulator, in the new television programme.

This was real life and she doubted Xenophon was preparing his victims in fancy dishes to disguise the true origins of the... meat.

She shivered. People were gross! How could one trust that somebody was  _not_  disease-ridden!

There's no way to know that!

Xenophon was a nasty blighter!

**EW! WHY? THE BLOODY HELL WAS WRONG WITH HIM?!**

_Madness? Desperation? Obsession? All of them at once? He wanted me so terribly, in_  
_any way he could get me (Voldemort) that he went to such lengths. As a result, I have_  
_like 8 mothers because he had a weird fixation on women and a sexist view on making_  
_those he viewed as weaker, submit to him. I had assumed in school that he was simply_  
_being dramatic to unnerve people but I was wrong apparently. He fancied me a bit too_  
_much and while I was flattered then, I'm disgusted now._

**I hate him even more. I hope he's rotting in hell.**

Low and slow. Preferably on a rusty spit that was rotated only once a day.

_Do you even believe in hell?_

**Not really, but the idea that bad people(or just the people I at least determine**  
**to be bad) will be suffering for all eternity in a pit of damnation and agony just**  
**sounds so appealing, don't you think? It is like the best revenge and I'd spend**  
**hours thinking about it if I had the free time to do it! I'm excited just by talking**  
**about it with you!**

Bella was a bit twisted. She could acknowledge it easily.

_Do you often think about people suffering in agony?_

**Do you really want the answer to that question?**

Sometimes answers ended up being ones people didn't want.

Did Tom think he was ready for that?

_I often forget how violent you can be until you literally steer the conversation in that_  
_direction. It's always a surprise with you._

**I live to please. And wouldn't your life be so boring without all of my amazing**  
**amazingness to spice everything up? God only knows the kind of people you're**  
**surrounded by day in and day out when you're out there being a better version**  
**of Tom than Voldy ever was.**

_Mostly magic-raised Purebloods and Halfbloods. Durmstrang doesn't accept Muggleborns_  
_so the thought process I am surrounded by is very old and useless._

**That's fucking stupid of them. jfc**

_Indeed._

**Hey! You think while you're there, you coudld do me a favour because I'm your**  
**most favourite person in the entire world?**

_I never said that, but go on._

He didn't even need to say it, she knew very well.

Tom liked Bella a hell of a lot more than anyone else he'd ever met. It was obvious in how he spoke to her and let her get away with teasing him so much. Bella was probably his best friend, which was kind of sweet. And sad.

**Find out some info for me. It's all relevant to my - and by extension Hermione's**  
**\- studies.**

**How many Purebloods live in manors or ancestral homes that are at least 200+**  
**years old, that have protective ward stones that use the magic of the inhabitants**  
**to power said protections?**

**How many of the Pureblood families produce Squibs? List all that apply.**

**Do any of the Halfbloods come from families that have produced Squibs? List all**  
**that apply.**

**Do any of the Pureblood families partake in inbreeding? List all that apply.**

**How magically powerful would you say the Purebloods are? Try to be detailed in**  
**description.**

**Do all the Purebloods look 'normal'? Essentially, do they appear to not have any**  
**disfigurements? List all that don't apply.**

**This is crucial because I came up with a theory and have been doing some asking**  
**over here. Since you're in another country that you won't even tell me the name**  
**of, and the students who go there are mostly from mainland Europe, I figured**  
**you'd get some more varied info from them all. Or you might end up proving me**  
**right in the end.**

_Hmm… Give me a moment._

_From your questions, you think the ward stones also help create Squibs._

Bella did like to tease Tom over being like a super smart old man but in reality Tom was actually a genius and it was kind of terrifying how quickly his mind reached conclusions. He must have been the teacher's pet. Being that smart would be something any teacher would appreciate if they weren't named Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Also, as a small tangent, with all those ridiculous names, a boring arse Brian was thrown in there? WTF were Dumbledore's parents smoking?

Anyway...

**Your intelligence is scary sometimes. Why are you faking going to school when**  
**you're too smart for it? You could be doing more important stuff rn.**

_Because these relationships will be useful later on, dear Bella. Making them admire me_  
_is very easy I've found, and using their admirations will get me what I want._

**A very Slytherin answer.**

_But of course._

**I wonder what would happen if Voldy finds out that you exist physically too now.**

_Let's make certain he doesn't find out until the last possible moment, yes?_

Wouldn't want all of Tom's careful planning to be ruined!

After so long in the Diary he wouldn't take the loss very well.

**Yeah, he'd be a right prick about it and would cause a stir. He's got no patience**  
**anymore.**

_As I am reminded daily, I assure you._

**Yeah, the original you went completely bonkers and we're all suffering for it.**

_I know. You've managed to tell me this many times in the last two years._

**Just wanted to get the point across. :)**

_I hate you._

**You love me, fuck off.**

_Your language is deplorable._

**Look at all these fucks I give. Oh wait! \O.O/**

_You're such a drama queen._

**Coming from the dude who cursed a teaching position because he was told 'no',**  
**that's rich!**

_Voldemort! Voldemort cursed it, not me!_

**Same difference.**

_That's an oxymoron and it literally makes no sense!_

**Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.**

Teasing Tom was really easy and really fun to boot!

* * *

Ah, Easter break. A whole week of literally nothing to do because Aaliyah was all about rest during holidays and crap of that nature. Something passed down from her childhood and her parents' expectations.

But this also meant a time to sit down and finally confront things that needed to be confronted. They could not put this stuff off any longer.

Specifically, the events surrounding the upcoming wedding.

Technically, they'd already gotten a license and the marriage part was done and over with. And of course a friend officiated. They were planning on a ceremony though and were going to invite all of their buddies from their skating days plus friends from other walks of life. And Bella's friends were invited too if they wanted to come along.

And with the wedding came the need for a talk.  _The_  Talk.

"We have a big secret to share with you," was Bella's way of getting the conversation started.

Deborah looked between she and Aaliyah, seemingly a bit concerned if the dip between her brows was anything to go by. "Is… it  _bad_?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Then what?"

"Do you believe in magic?" Because she literally couldn't think of anything else to start with.

Deborah stared Bella down for what felt like forever before her eyes went wide. "Does this have to do with how oddly talented you are and how ridiculous your pain tolerance is and the fact that you walk off injuries too normally?"

Well then.

"Yes."

The woman sighed. "Okay. Lay it on me. And get the whisky ready."

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiSs7C0lfzeAhVQhuAKHcZNBY8QFjADegQICxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSurya_Bonaly&usg=AOvVaw0yXRjjtgRTox3ehXFSKd0U)]** Surya Bonaly is one of the greatest Ladies Skaters of all time. She's a Frenchwoman who  
>  made it to the Olympics in the 90s. Surya is a black woman who deviated somewhat from the  
>  delicate appearance other Ladies Skaters had at the time. She was more physically fit and her  
>  thighs were a point of complaint from many because of how muscular they were. She was often  
>  judged unfairly(due to racism) and she was known for her backflips on the ice. She is the only  
>  Olympic figure skater to ever land a backflip on a single blade. Surya competed in the Olympics  
>  three times during her career.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of term is upon them! Things pick up a bit after this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Winding down the end of the school year with extra stress because why not?

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"I think I love Yuna Kim even more now," said Bella as she plopped onto a seat at the Slytherin Table during her second run through the day. "She performed in the Olympics for a second time in her life and still managed to medal again after four years of aging in between. Muggles don't have our youth so it's doubly impressive. I'm in love all over again."

Her friends, most of them at least, didn't really understand her fangirling, but they allowed the moment to just for her to brag about her favourite skater's abilities.  _That_  was true friendship. Even when things made no sense you stood by your friends and their interests!

"I'm aiming to best her World Records some day. I am so pumped for Juniors!" It was getting closer and closer!

Bella was hoping to perform a Free Program some day, with the highest ever technical difficulty among Senior Ladies Skaters. It would be so awesome! And maybe she'd get a cool nickname like Yuna did. Queen Yuna. Bella didn't know what nickname she'd get, she just wanted one.

"So how many people does that make you in love with?" Hermione asked after a moment. Her smile was teasing, but Bella would not let it just be that. If given the chance, Bella would totally rant about her faves.

She had to take a second to count them off first of course. "Sigourney Weaver, Gary Oldman, Yuna Kim, and Michael Jackson. Four so far. The list could get longer at any time."

Hermione paused in her eating, a considering looking on her face. "Sirius looks a lot like Gary Oldman."

" _Exactly_! Imagine him cosplaying Dracula **[1]**!" Bella suggested with a grin, which had poor Hermione choking on her spoonful of mash.

It was a shame their friends couldn't get the joke's genius for what it truly was. Maybe one day Bella could get them all to sleep over and watch Gary Oldman play Dracula.

* * *

**Hermione,**

**My family has indeed taken up potions tutoring. After Bella helped us learn that we**   
**could brew potions in order to earn extra money, my parents decided that it would**   
**be a good idea for us to all learn together. I get to keep any money I will eventually**   
**be making, which is great on my end!**

**Bella's been making a lot of progress on her research. She complains a lot about it**   
**when she comes back to this side of the divide, but she swears that you both have**   
**tonnes of plans in order to fix everything and that she will help you. I'll help too. I**   
**don't really know what use I could be in the long run, but I am willing to be here if**   
**I'm needed.**

**On another note, I wanted to bring your attention to the upcoming elections in the**   
**Autumn. They're in the latter half of November and we have been keeping up with**   
**the ridiculous political drama going on. Fudge is up for re-election and he has been**   
**kissing arse so much his face is now more brown than mine! Also he's been making**   
**donations left and right to get people talking about him. Meanwhile, he;s awarded**   
**himself another Order of Merlin Third Class for 'generosity' or some tripe. So far he**   
**has awarded himself six times. I don't think he should be allowed to bestow those**   
**awards at all actually.**

**Anyway, because that's coming up, we need to consider the community's options.**

**We're fucked is the basics of it.**

**Fudge sucks and he's got the support of former Death Eaters to back him. They've**   
**a lot of gold and he's very greedy. They shove it his way and he basically becomes**   
**their spokesperson. It has been happening for years. Unfortunately for the general**   
**public, none of the other politicians are even remotely decent either. What can we**   
**expect of old Pureblood men who take up most of the free space with their narrow**   
**views?**

**There is Ambrose Uelik Gamp. He is a massive pain in the arse who's very vocal in**   
**his hatred for everything! Anti-creature, anti-muggleborn, anti-muggle, anti-squib,**   
**and anti-foreigner. He equates them all to being mindless beasts not worthy of life**   
**in Magical Britain, and has gained a disturbing amount of supporters especially in**   
**the last decade. He would make things hellish for a lot of us. He is Fudge's biggest**   
**competition this upcoming election and is a Pureblood, Grey-Wizard.**

**The next biggest competition Fudge has, goes by the name of Ernest Vaun Pyrites.**   
**He is a Pureblood Light-Wizard with a very deep prejudice for anything Slytherin or**   
**Dark. He wants to completely remove Slytherin from Hogwarts entirely and strip the**   
**school of any of Slytherin's remnants. He views all Slytherins as pure evil and has it**   
**out for anyone Sorted there. The more prejudiced Light lovers are on board with his**   
**ridiculous plans and find no fault in his choices. He has massive support from them.**

**Finally, we have the last who doesn't really have much of a chance but isn't better**   
**than the other three.**

**Torence Higgs who is a Dark-Wizard and was rumoured to be a Death Eater. Meaning:**   
**he was one. Nothing he wants is good. Not even decent at the very least. His desires**   
**align far too much with what the Death Eaters preached You-Know-Who wanted to be**   
**safe for anybody not like him.**

**Basically, Magical Britain is screwed. Though to be honest, I think Fudge is the best**   
**when it comes to handling the Prime Minister. He's not a Pureblood Supremacist no**   
**matter how daft and easily manipulated he is. He does not find it shameful that the**   
**Prime Minister is a muggle. I however, wouldn't trust the other three to get near the**   
**PM for anything. So Fudge is basically the lesser of two evils in a way.**

**What are your thoughts on all of this crap? I am not exactly panicking, but it annoys**   
**me that we're not old enough to vote yet. So we have to rely on the old fogies to do**   
**right by us and letting any of these twats get any kind of support has proven that the**   
**older generations cannot be trusted with the future.**

**Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,**   
**Amara.**

* * *

"Mione, you look like shite."

The brunette sighed and it was like her entire body just deflated of all its innards. Bella frowned, having not seen her friend like this since their first year when she had been stressed all the time. Hermione did not always do well under pressure. Especially if it was self-imposed pressure.

"It's just- you know that  _thing_  we do. It's been so difficult to keep up with my schedule and I haven't been sleeping as well as I'd like to!"

Bella put up a quick silencing charm to give them privacy, and moved to join the girl on her bed. "Do you  _not_  do 48 hours a day like me?"

Hermione's eyes went wide. " _Forty-eight a day_?" she whispered in what seemed to be a mix of horror and amazement. As if it was completely unfathomable that anyone would commit to such a thing. In fact, it sounded more likely that Hermione would do something like that instead of Bella if she considered it more closely.

"Yeah?"

"Then you've already celebrated your fourteenth birthday?"

"Yes."

Hermione shook her head in wonder. "How many times a day do you go back?"

"Twice. Twelve hours each time. I've had it all sorted since summer so I knew what to do. I know when I'll be turning fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen too, and factored in Christmases, Easters, and summer holidays. Haven't you?"

Hermione shook her head. "I was more interested in extra study time, but I could easily calculate my upcoming birthdays if I want to. On days where my schedule overlaps in elective courses, I go back 4 hours, three times. On days I have a free period I go back only once for six hours. On Sundays I go back from 8 PM to 8 AM once to give myself extra study time."

Hermione's schedule was literally too much for Bella to get through. But for the most part, she was getting about 230 hours a week compared to Bella's 312 hours a week.

"I'm so stressed because there's so much classwork to go through in each of these classes. I don't even like Care of Magical Creatures and you know I hate Divination and they both don't seem to be worth the effort I'm putting in for them."

Ever since Hermione's death had been predicted to be gruesome and terrible, she'd not liked the Divination teacher. Trelawney or some such rubbish name. It had just been one messy prediction after another.

"Doing the classes at the time is fine. It's the assignments we're given in all of them. And since we're older, we get less free periods a day now because we're expected to be able to handle a larger workload now. Our Thursday schedule was moved back if you recall, so we no longer get extra sleep to make up for Astronomy at midnights on Wednesdays."

True. Bella was still of the opinion that Astronomy was completely useless to her in life.

"Mione, you could just do 48 hours days like me. I can show you my schedule and you can determine if it would work for you, and then you'll work out your own version of it. I get enough sleep, food, study time, class time, and down time. It might help you too. The bags under your eyes have bags and they are purplish and puffy."

Hermione sighed for what felt like the millionth time since the conversation started. "I suppose I could give it a go."

"Great! Wait a mo!"

Bella kept her super secret schedule in a very safe place. Her shared notebook with Tom that was enchanted so only she or Tom could open it. Hermione would get better just in time for end of the year exams!

* * *

**How is it that everything just seemingly works out for you completely? You have**   
**been in a book for more than 50 years and you get out and manage to acclimate**   
**to the current wizarding world easily. This simulation makes no sense and I want**   
**a reboot!**

Ah, her video game references that Tom didn't fully understand because he'd never played such things before. But she had taken the time to explain the concept of certain slang terms she used. He knew what she meant and he couldn't help but crack a small smile at her frustration over his natural-born talent. It wasn't his fault he was like this.

It was his fault that he kept bragging about it however. Tom didn't feel bad for it either. Annoying Bella was amusing and even if he had a stressful day, he could count on her to make the evening entertaining in some way.

The fires of friendship burned brightly for them both.

_Many things come into play, dear Bella. **1.)**  I am naturally talented and capable of adapting_   
_to situations near-instantly. **2.)**  Xenophon's gold is very useful. People will act gladly for any_   
_amount of gold. **3.)**  Goblins are very talented for the right price.  **4.)**  You did help me quite_   
_a bit yourself. **5.)**  Xenophon amassed a never-ending amount of blackmail on all the other_   
_Death Eaters and I made certain to memorise it all before fully absorbing him. So I'm using_   
_what I know against Durmstrang's Highmaster._

**He was a Death Eater?!**

_Oh, yes! Durmstrang teaches the Dark Arts as part of its curriculum, but even they have a_   
_few limitations. Such as torture and murder not being allowed within. That was why Gellert_   
_Grindelwald, the Dark Lord before Voldemort, was expelled. He was experimenting and not_   
_in a friendly way. A lot of people here spit on his memory actually._

The amount of dislike for Grindelwald was kind of hilarious if he was being honest. He was a Dark Lord and he'd been pro-Dark Arts, and yet his actions had made generally the entirety of the school's population, even to this current day, despise him.

Grindelwald wasn't exactly like what Voldemort became. He wasn't necessarily demanding Dark Magic be used all the time. He didn't think it to be more important than Light Magic. He was accepting of all magical people, he simply held a distaste for muggles that he hid very well for the most part.

But he was also willing to lie and manipulate everything for everything and tended to blatantly murder anyone who didn't choose to stand with him. A lot of his former classmates' families suffered at his hands when they refused to stand beside him. And so the hatred for him grew.

It was practically expected for the students to be indoctrinated into the hatred of Gellert Grindelwald upon their first year in the school.

**Wow. That's pretty good of them actually.**

_Don't get too excited. Muggleborns are not allowed to attend. It may seem more progressive_   
_in certain aspects, but even the Halfbloods aren't treated the best. Still, they accept students_   
_from all over Europe compared to Hogwarts which typically only takes the British citizens, and_   
_Beauxbatons which has mostly French students._

**Do they ever have like exchange programs so students from one school could learn**   
**about life at one of the other schools? That would be awesome.**

_I don't even think anyone has ever considered leaving their magical school for another one._

Transfers weren't a common thing because rarely did an entire magical family relocate to a new country. Especially in this day and age where it was unnecessary for them to.

And even more, keeping the locations of each magical school secret was very important to each community's Ministry as well as the ICW. Tom thought it was ridiculous since it wasn't that difficult to guess just by name, where each school resided.

**Muggles do it all the time in Exchange Programs. I would not personally do it since I**   
**don't want the extra hassle of trans-international travel either through Floo, Portkey,**   
**Broom (hell no to those!), or any other method of travel I can think of.**

_I can teach you how to fly unaided._

**?You can fly without using a broom?**

He always loved getting extra chances to expound upon his skill set!

Bragging was only acceptable if one could actually back up their claims.

_Of course. It was one that I'd started on when I was very young. I could make animals do what_   
_I wanted. I could even make other children do what I wanted. One day my feet left the ground_   
_and I hovered in the air for nearly a full minute before I touched back down. I was rather decent_   
_at it before I entered the Diary. I've been practicing it more and more as of late because having_   
_this skill would be beneficial, and the books state Voldemort was capable of unsupported flight_   
_as well._

_Durmstrang has a lot of space available for aerial training because they have a lot of Professional_   
_Quidditch players in attendance. Viktor Krum, currently believed to be the world's best Seeker, is_   
_only seventeen and will be going into his final year next term. He's the Bulgarian National Team's_   
_Seeker and he needs the space to practice all the time. The Highmaster seems to adore him just  
a bit too much._

Tom was of the belief that Igor Karkaroff was smitten with Viktor Krum and Krum wasn't aware. He was a bit... not exactly daft but not the brightest Lumos ever cast either. He wouldn't notice genuine interest even if it was staring him in the face.

Igor's interest wasn't like the interest of a fangirl which was why Krum couldn't really see it for what it was. Tom pitied the boy, he truly did.

**Holy shite! I don't keep up with much but I do have some info on what's going on. Ever**   
**since learning about Prue's intentions for her future, I've gotten a bit more invested to**   
**at least know what's going on in her life. Her contract with the Cannons will be up right**   
**before she signs the new contract with the Welsh National Team. Exactly a week before**   
**the World Cup. And the WNT did very well these past four years and if they win their 3rd**   
**Round match, they will be in the Quidditch World Cup Final. Prue will be on as a Reserve,**   
**and her skills might very well ensure her a win for the team. The Bulgarian National Team**   
**is already slated for the Final. How long has Krum been with them do you think?**

_I asked. He signed on at fifteen. Fourteen is the minimum age requirement for International Teams._   
_We may dislike James Potter, but he did plan out your sister's career moves very well so as long as_   
_she continues to do well she will want and worry for nothing her whole career._

He was never above admitting the impressive abilities of others. He wasn't certain if Voldemort had kept that particular belief, but when Tom saw someone truly accomplish something amazing, he acknowledged it. He simply rarely witnessed such things in general.

Like his hatred for Dumbledore. The man could die and Tom would go so far as to throw a party in celebration, but even Tom could admit that Dumbledore was very powerful and a dangerous person make one's enemy.

**You know a lot about Quidditch for someone who hates it and thinks it's pointless and not**   
**worth your time.**

_I know a lot about everything because I cannot stand not knowing things._

**Yeah, you're anal retentive like that.**

_I am not a fusser!_

Tom did not whinge!

**Yes you are! You totally get out of sorts when things don't go exactly as you expect them**   
**to!**

_You've yet to see that actually happen, how would you know?_

**1.) I have gotten to know you pretty well, dude.  2.) Your Arithmancy Agrippan Numbers say**   
**it all.**

_Fine._

**Did you know both you and Dumbledore have the exact same numbers in the same order?**

_No. And I could have gone the rest of the span of known time never knowing that._

He could have gone everyone else's lives not knowing it either.

He hated Dumbledore. He didn't want to be connected to him in any way. And the horrible realisations that would come from such a thing!

**Just saying, you're both very alike. It's interesting considering Voldy and Dumbles are on**   
**opposite sides of this war thing. They're like two sides of the same coin. They both got a**   
**special group together too, and both groups have names referencing immortality.**

_I'm retching over the pages of this book, I'll have you know._

**Drama Queen.**

_Let us talk about actual interesting information. Such as how you are doing in your Arithmancy and_   
_Ancient Runes classes. I obviously did perfectly in those classes, but I'm also naturally a genius and_   
_I don't have a leech sucking on my magic and forcing its jealousy down my throat all the time so I_   
_make mistakes in everything._

Every time he considered just what the Horcrux inside Bella was, he would feel this illness creeping in his gut. An unease that usually came with the action of vomiting. Guilt. Tom was feeling guilty for the situation Bella was put in.

He hadn't done it personally. He wasn't even aware of when it happened. And yet he felt guilty for this one because Bella was a his friend and she had so much potential that she couldn't reach because his jealous soul piece of hindering her progress and making her detest learning in general.

The things Tom enjoyed could not be enjoyed by Bella. It was disappointing to know that it was his fault in a way. If he could remove the soul piece he would gladly do it.

It posed a literal danger to Bella especially with her choice of profession. Merlin forbid it act up while she was competing!

**Actually top of the classes with Hermione. Hermione is naturally good at stuff, like you.**   
**She just gets it. I go about things a bit differently though, so because my methods are**   
**more difficult I still come out with Os even if my work isn't always the best.**

_And your methods are..?_

**Stitching Runes instead of just carving or painting them. Aaliyah once signed me up for**   
**classes some time when I was nine and I managed four months before I got bored and**   
**gave up. But now and then I do like to take up a needle and thread.**

Of course Bella would automatically think of the hardest method to use but somehow do it easily.

Others could only be so fortunate.

_Impressive. I personally preferred carving. Especially in wood. Whittling is very difficult but if done  
correctly, especially with woods that can amplify magic, can make powerful charms and defences._

**I actually really like the work in the classes, which is weird since I have attention issues**   
**thanks to your soul piece being a cockwomble.**

_They are a requirement for your goal to give Squibs magical networks though. You know they're_   
_necessary, so maybe your insistence is what is allowing you to do well. Natural Aptitude toward_   
_your interests._

**Oh yeah! I forget about it sometimes because I'm still not great at History of Magic or**   
**Herbology or Astronomy. I find those three a bit pointless if you are not planning to go**   
**into those professions.**

She was still young so of course she wouldn't understand just what knowledge from those classes could do for her future.

Though considering Binns taught History of Magic, meaning the  _students_  were teaching themselves essentially, he could understand the opinions on that class in particular. Astronomy was useful in many branches of magic.

Bella wouldn't be Bella if she didn't speak her mind though. It was amusing to listen to her thought process and opinions even if he didn't always agree.

_How are you managing all the excess work when you are also doing your skating on the side? I_   
_have just realised that it's a lot to be doing and you've yet to break under the strain of it all._

**Well don't spread it around, but I've been granted use of a Time Turner.**

_Really?_

Those had only been talked about while he was at Hogwarts. Whispers but no definitive measures had been taken to attempt Time-Travel in the 40s. But now they actually existed and that was how Bella was handling all of her work.

He was impressed. He could only imagine the schedule she was living by in order to see everything done in a timely manner. She was young and yet so very dedicated to her future she was willing to do all fo this just to follow her dreams.

Bella was so damn amazing!

It had been years since Tom was this... dumbfounded by another living being.

**Yep! I have been living 48 hours a day since September 2nd, excluding Christmas and**   
**Easter break! I am technically 14 already and will be turning 15 in November if I keep**   
**this schedule up. My face is already thinning out and I have lost all baby fat so it's just**   
**muscle left over now.**

_You knew this would happen, didn't you? You will be seventeen before 2017 and essentially can_   
_leave Hogwarts at the end of your 5th year._

She was a genius in her own way.

**Yep! I will be old enough to keep my wand legally and with my O.W.L.s I won't need to**   
**stay in school. This will give me more time to dedicate to other matters entirely. Such**   
**as training.**

_Impressive._

He couldn't find the right words to express what he was feeling!

**\O.O/**

_Don't get used to it._

Tom didn't give out compliments just because he could after all. It would ruin the image he strove to uphold. He also didn't want to deal with even more of Bella's teasing. It was like talking to him wasn't enough and she absolutely  _needed_  to tease at any given opportunity.

No one else he'd ever talked to had been so brazen. Then again, no one else he'd ever known hadn't actually met him in person for him to intimidate them. Being a book when they met either made this relationship worse or better, he honestly couldn't tell.

* * *

"Alright, kiddo! today we're working on what is going to be your signature move. A lot of the greatest skaters have something they do that the fans just die for, and you're going to need to determine what it is you want."

Bella nodded as she laced up her boots. "Johnny Weir loves his slides and doing his Spins and Jumps clockwise unlike the majority of figure skaters. Yuna Kim is known for a bent-leg layover Camel Spin, plus she loves going into a Double Axel from a Layback Ina Bauer. Yuzuru Hanyu does the Hydroblade really well. Surya Bonaly had her backflips." When competing against those examples, not needing a hand to hold her leg up during a Y Spin or Spiral wasn't all that impressive. Sure it would reflect well in scoring but for the wow factor it wasn't that impressive. A lot of people didn't understand just how much physical strength was necessary in figure skating and it would just go right over their heads.

"I really need to get the damn Cantilever down."

Aaliyah hissed in sympathy. "You really want  _that one_  to be your thing?"

"It's hard," Bella insisted frankly. "Like really hard. Controlling your destination is also incredibly difficult too. It would be pretty impressive if I could figure out how to do like a Jump right afterward, but it have to be at least a Double."

From a distance she could only imagine what it would look like to the spectators. If she built up enough speed and then got into position in time, she could actually give herself a chance to complete the revolutions required for a Double Jump at the most right now.

"You aim high, kiddo. You're basically there so you'll just have to focus more and more on this in the coming months. You'll probably have it done by the start of the next season."

Difficult entry into difficult Jumps earned higher marks. It would have to be an Axel type Jump if she wanted to get the best points possible. And she'd have to work on her equilibrium too because the positioning was hell on the knees and the spine.

Bella slid off her guards one at a time and handed them to Aaliyah. "I'll start my warm ups and then get to work. Any advice?"

"You did your stretches already?"

"Yeah. Like always."

"Then mind your knees. Those are going to be the biggest pain for you in this."

* * *

"I've decided to have mercy on you all by telling you some of what to expect on your end of the year exam," Professor Babbling said, adjusting her blue witch hat to tilt a bit more abnormally to the left. Because of course wizards liked it when things weren't level for some reason. "You will be expected to write each Rune in order, as well as detail their various meanings and uses. The final third of the exam is a secret, but if you've paid any attention to what we've done this year, you'll easily understand what you'll be expected to do."

The class was dismissed immediately and Hermione packed up her things as quickly as she could in order to make it to the library on time for her study period. Bella was right beside her, but a lot less frantic or enthusiastic about it. She still hated studying no matter how useful it was, but she also had that attention issue so it wasn't as if it was her fault.

"It's gotta be something to do with putting Runes on something in some way for some purpose," Bella said as they hastened down the corridors. "It's like the only real thing we've done all year."

"Clever deduction."

The younger girl elbowed her in the side and rolled her eyes. "We've only done protective stuff this year so it'll probably have to do with fireproofing something or whatever. She seems to be into protections first and foremost."

Probably because protecting oneself was very important. If someone wasn't good at Defence, then maybe they could keep themselves safe with Runes.

Which they had been working on all year long. Hermione as honestly not worried about her elective courses in the least. She was more concerned because she'd been having a more difficult time with Herbology and History of Magic this school year compared to others. Hermione was not naturally good with plants like Neville. She was decent but the class required more concentration from her than any other did.

As for HoM, they were basically teaching themselves. Binns still never taught anything but Goblin Wars, but there was more to their history than the many disputes between magical species. Hermione knew the facts by heart and could recite them, but the book wasn't very helpful in teaching her how to understand why things happened at all because it was written by a Goblin-hating wizard.

A real teacher would be able to convey these messages. Binns didn't and probably never would.

She was thinking of writing a complaint to the Board of Governors about it. They got Lockhart sacked and then arrested. And Dumbledore had basically been demoted. Surely they could do something about History of Magic so the students actually learned? Most treated it as nap time anyway.

"You've got this look of determination on your face," Bella observed. "Who's going to regret living by the time this is over?"

"No one," Hermione sniffed, placing her bag down now that they'd reached the library. "The person in question isn't living and therefore can't regret it."

It took her only a few seconds, but Bella's face brightened when she got it. "Binns will be gone by next term?"

"Hopefully. I'm so tired of having to teach myself History."

"True that."

She was certain he'd been a decent teacher when he was alive, but Hermione was of the belief that the dead, in this case the afterimages of the dead, were incapable of teaching the living lessons. They all seemed to be rather caught up in the unfortunate circumstances of their deaths and rarely considered much else. She'd already heard the tale of Nearly Headless Nick's decapitation four times, and Myrtle's crying about her 'floating away'.

If it wasn't in their history, then a dead person had no business teaching them anything. She didn't care if it sounded interesting that a ghost was a teacher at their school.

Hermione was already mentally composing the letter she wished to write.

* * *

** MINISTRY  _in_  HOT WATER! **

With Lord James Potter's recent undertaking of re-hauling Azkaban, more and more of the  
Ministry's blunders are being revealed to the public! As each and every cell in Azkaban had  
to be inspected to verify the living conditions in which the prisoners have been forced into,  
many wizards and witches were discovered to have resided behind the stone walls for years  
despite not being on the Ministry's records.

Some had even been behind bars for decades! And when the Hall of Records was searched  
thoroughly, no proof of any trials were to be found. Minister Cornelius Fudge and his Senior  
Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge couldn't give a proper explanation for this obvious lack of  
control in the high positions of our government. Minister Fudge has chosen to blame it all on  
his Senior Undersecretary despite the fact that she was hired by him five years after he was  
elected to office and all of the illegal prisoners were imprisoned between 1981 and 2001. It  
happened before Umbridge took up her position as Senior Undersecretary.

I'm certain it has not escaped your notice that this coincides with the time when the Death  
Eaters were out in full force and the war was at its most dangerous. However, many of the  
prisoners do not possess the Dark Mark and many can't even articulate full sentences any  
longer to explain the reasoning for why they were falsely imprisoned. As such, the Ministry  
has essentially kept innocent humans under lock and torture for decades without a care for  
the law.

The Wizengamot has been swamped with work as they have to sort through each and every  
case individually to ensure proper management. Those who are criminals, and compensation  
they will be awarded for the Ministry's negligence, and then those illegally held against their  
will behind those freezing and unforgiving walls.

There are whispers of a motion gaining much favour among the court members, which calls  
for a quick and peaceful death for those so mentally addled they can no longer take care of  
themselves or even understand what is happening to them. The majority of the court seems  
to be in favour with 59% agreeing. The motion will not officially be given until 10 June 2014,  
but it is coming. This is your time to weigh in and send your thoughts on the process to our  
main office. They might make it into the paper in the coming days as this massive decision  
comes into play officially. They might even influence the majority opinion to shift directions.

Lord Potter is lobbying for the removal of Dementors entirely, claiming they are dangerous  
creatures who can't even be controlled by Ministry personnel. When Minister Fudge denied  
such claims, Lord Potter mentioned how You-Know-Who had recruited them during the war  
and then used them against his enemies. This fact was further proven when we at The Daily  
Prophet anonymously received a telling record of all the  **deaths**  caused by an unsanctioned  
Dementor's Kiss. And by  **deaths**  we of course mean the sucking out of the soul, rendering  
the body an empty shell that is as good as dead. These incidents no doubt happened during  
one of the many  **visits**  the Dementors seem to have with various prisoners, even when they  
shouldn't be allowed into the cells. The Aurors on guard have nothing to say on the matter  
unsurprisingly.

The glaringly obvious issues within our government seem to be unraveling more and more  
as time passes. At this rate, things are going to be different in the years to come. Change  
is indeed coming. All that is left for us is to either take a side or merely watch as it passes  
us by. Whether we like it or not, it'll happen either way.

What side are you on? What would you wish to see changed in our great community? What  
concerns have you harboured deep within your heart?

Let us know your thoughts.

Gaius Aelius,  
 _Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

"It's gonna be hard getting used to a normal summer," Bella murmured to Hermione as they packed up their supplies so they could leave the library before the rush came upon them. "Living out forty-eight hours a day is kind of stressful but I did get used to it. And now things are going to feel slow and I'm going to be feeling unproductive."

Her friend nodded, her bushy hair wiggling with the movement. "I'll have more time to just study new information but I'll miss being able to practice magic whenever I want to."

"True. Magic is the fun side of it all. At least next term we're going to start learning how to see magic in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, which means some actual progress in our plans!" That was what she was looking forward to the most.

Spell Creation and Potion Creation depended heavily upon seeing magic and the different effects it had. She couldn't wait to delve into this line of study because Luna swore up and down that it was beautiful and Bella wanted to be in the know too.

"Are you hungry?" Hermione asked. "I've been starving for hours every bloody day."

And suddenly Bella was feeling guilty. She'd forgotten to tell Hermione about the Kitchens and her friend was so stressed she had said a bad word! "I got ya covered. Come hither!"

"Who says hither anymore?"

"Moi!"

* * *

"Are you  _taller_  than me?"

The realisation had come out of nowhere. Prue and Bella had been studying together in the library while everyone else was busy with different things. Prue had found herself staring at her twin and considering how not very twin-like they were. Not like Fred and George. Or the Carrows. Or the Patils.

It wasn't so shocking since they weren't brought up together, but aside from a difference in colouring, they should look alike. But that was simply not the case.

When seated across from one another, Prue noticed that Bella's head was placed higher even when sitting exactly the same as Prue. Bella's face was also more thinned out compared to Prue's, and her cheekbones had become more defined. She'd looked older than Prue did, though it wasn't by much. But still.

Bella blinked and sat up. "I don't really  _know_?" she answered, dragging out the final word with a questioning lilt.

Prue stood and motioned for the other girl to do the same. Grabbing Bella's pen from the table, she placed it on top of her head and then leveled it against Bella's. The point left an ink dot in the center of the older girl's forehead. "You're like five centimeters taller than me! We're twins. How the hell is that possible?"

"I don't know! Not all twins end up looking the same as they age. Maybe that's it. I could have a longer torso than you."

Yeah, but Bella looked nothing like the other thirteen year olds in Third Year. In fact, her friend Hermione was already fourteen at the beginning of the school year and was about three-quarters of the way to fifteen. Bella was matching Granger in terms of aging physically.

Prue frown and looked the sister up and down. Bella was still relatively flat-chested like Prue was, but she trained her body all the time so that could be the reason. More muscle instead of fat on her chest.

"Are you… doing something to age yourself faster?"

Prue didn't forget about Bella's friend who had access to Dark Rituals and Magic and Hit-Wizards. Who knew what the two of them were getting up to?

Bella sighed and rummaged through her pocket to pull out a… Time Turner. "This is how I'm doing my training and classwork. I was too young to use it the former years I've been here but so long as I do well in classes I can keep using it whenever I want."

That made so much more sense! "So how old are you now?"

"Fourteen and a half. I'll be fifteen in November."

That would mean… she was at least doubling up her time!

"All this effort for  _school_?" Prue asked, horrified at the thought of that much dedication for classwork.

"Oh hell no! For skating," Bella scoffed with an eye roll. "But in order to get more skating time in as well as managing new classes I have to get at least EEs in everything, so more studying is necessary, plus I'm doing research for that project on the side so…" She shrugged. "What else could I do?"

At least Prue had an idea of what was going on because for a moment she was very confused. "And you're somehow still sane after all of this?"

Bella beamed. "I'm great at maths," she insisted. "I have a detailed schedule. Which, btw, you can't go telling people about. We technically weren't supposed to tell people about it but the group was curious about some stuff and we caved."

"We?"

"Mione and I."

That also made sense. Granger was taking every elective. Willingly. More power to her at least. Dedication like that would get her somewhere good in the future. Hopefully.

"I won't… tell anyone. I was just curious. But seriously, even  _more_  studying?"

That got her a cackle and them both a very loud shushing noise from Madam Pince who looked like she was about to split hairs with her sharp teeth alone.

* * *

"Oh my God, there is a muggleborn or at least a muggle-raised magical person on Spotify who isn't me!" Bella had been waiting hours just to release this lovely bit of information. When she finally made it back to the school to have breakfast with her friends, she'd laid it all out there.

None of her friends got it of course, and she really couldn't expect them to. Not even Hermione, but she wasn't really up on on everything going on in pop culture and she didn't like the internet as much as Bella did. She probably didn't know much about Spotify to begin with.

"What's Spotify?" Theo ended up asking. He also butchered the word, the poor dude.

"Spotify is a music streaming service. It's like- you're taking Muggle Studies and learned about the Jukebox thing last month, right? It's got all those CDs in it and you can pre-select the song you want for a price. Imagine something like that but connected world-wide and not everyone has to pay for it. The music is all there but now and then you have to sit through an ad because the basics of the service are free. If you want to pay for it you don't get ads at all and can access more of the service but I just want music, and listening to half a minute of ads every half hour isn't so horrible."

They weren't grasping it still but Blaise and Theo both looked interested. Neville and Luna merely blinked since they weren't in Muggle Studies obviously.

"Anyway, you can make a playlist which is like a bunch of songs for a particular mood or something of that nature, and then listen to it. I have a Workout playlist with songs that get me pumped to exercise and train. I have a Meditation playlist of soothing songs to help me relax.

"So I was browsing and typed a word wrong and ended up with Huff. Suddenly a playlist titled  **Everyday I'm Hufflepuff-In**  showed up and it was described as a 'Hufflepuff Playlist' and had a honey badger pin as it's cover. I then decided to look up Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Sure enough there's  **Lion's Den | Gryffindor**  with a photo of a lion as its cover,  **Mind If I Slytherin?**  with a photo of some black and green stilettos with snakes curled around the heels, and  **Ravenclaw Minds**  and it had a photo of a Ravenclaw scarf **[2]**!"

Hermione was suddenly looking concerned. "That's not good. There are magical people from our community so blatantly flaunting Hogwarts around. They're going to get us caught!"

Bella shrugged. "Each list had a few dozen followers and were all made by the same person. I followed them just because I thought it was kinda cool."

Evidently, Hermione did not agree. "They really need to be careful with things like that. Technology is at an all-time high these days and the muggles are advancing very quickly with every little thing. I'm going to have to scour the internet for mentions of the Houses when I get home this summer."

Maybe... Bella shouldn't have mentioned it at all? She'd thought it was awesome but perhaps Hermione had a point.

"Is it really such a bad thing?" Blaise asked quietly, looking minutely concerned as well.

Hermione sighed. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. It all depends on how obvious muggle-raised children are being. Just another thing that'll need to be worked on later I suppose."

* * *

"In first place with 1,505 Merits, is Ravenclaw. In second place with 1,490 Merits is Slytheirn. In third place with 1,210 Merits is Hufflepuff. And last but not least, Gryffindor in fourth with 1,165 Merits."

The Merit distance between Ravenclaw and Slytherin was so small that it was literally just up to their Heads of House to order the proper party requirements. Flitwick was a pretty cool little dude though so he might have better taste than B-Man who looked like he professionally sucked the fun out of everything.

Hermione huffed. "I hope there will be sugar free sweets at least."

"If not we can always raid the Kitchens," said Bella with a grin.

The uneasy look on Hermione's face reminded Bella of her dislike of the concept of House Elves and how she'd reacted when she'd met them. Bella too thought it was a bit ridiculous that magicals couldn't do the basics themselves when they literally had magic, but if a House Elf didn't bond with a master, they died. So they best way to combat the oddness of it without killing off a race of creatures, was to ensure masters couldn't be abusive.

Something else Hermione said she wanted to fix. Bella would most definitely support this plan.

"It'll be fine if we ask nicely."

* * *

The compartment they chose was directly filled with the sun and the seat were warmed by it. It was like a last farewell of comfort from Hogwarts.

"Neville, is there any way we could like, get you announced at the Lord of the Longbottom line?" Bella asked as they shuffled into a compartment on the train. "Are there options other than murder or is murder literally the only way?"

The rest of the group went dead quiet at Bella's question and Neville shifted a bit uncomfortably at how blasé she was over asking such a question. Though she did have a habit of saying weird things and baffling the lot of them many times over. It was just not something people discussed on the regular.

"I'm the the only Heir and if Gran would pass without emancipating me in her Will, the Lordship would fall to Apeiron Longbottom who is my dad's father's uncle. He's the only one left of that part of the line and holds a higher claim over Lordship than an underage Heir. He's over 120 now and can't have any more children.

"If he were to die as well, it would then fall to another relative by the name of Aurelius Longbottom who also survived his children and grandchildren. And it continues on. Many of my however many great aunts and uncles would assume control before I turn seventeen and could still do mass damage even if they don't have kids. Seventeen people stand between me and the Lordship while I'm a minor."

"Well shite," Bella hissed with a frustrated snap of the fingers. "We can't do a Xenophon on your whole family, that would look suspicious and not  _everyone_  in the Ministry is daft."

As one body, the whole of their group just turned to look at the girl in horror as they all processed what she had just said.

Hermione was sputtering. "B-Bella, are you saying that you had a h-hand in Theo's grandfather's sudden death?"

"Um…" Bella broke into a blinding grin and fluttered her eyelashes at them all, making her bright green eyes damn near sparkle in the morning sunlight. "I plead the fifth."

"This is  _not_  the States, Bella!" Hermione blustered. "What did you  _do_?"

"A friend and I may have come to an agreement," the girl murmured, her face a perfect mask of innocence and cuteness that none of them fell for any longer. "He needed a sacrifice for a ritual, I needed Theodore safe and out of harm's way. We plotted together and yeah! He made certain to set Theo up nice and good for the future and then did when he needed to do on his own end."

Neville wasn't exactly sure what he should feel. His friend had basically put a hit on their friend's grandfather and didn't feel guilty in the least. But it had been done to save Theo from being hurt any longer and literally gave him a chance at a nice future now. It had been done with good intentions in mind, and she was wondering how to do the same to Neville's relatives without getting caught! Because she wanted to help him as well.

"Who is this friend you're talking about because I'm sure you haven't mentioned him before?" Blaise asked, looking a bit disbelieving and distrustful.

"His name's Tom and he's great. I don't think I should say anymore about him right now, but just know that he's the one who told me about Squibs actually having magic and encouraged me to look into it. He was very specific on how Purebloods view things like that. He's why I started this whole project in the first place."

She sounded borderline…  _adoring_  of this person that none of them had heard of until this moment. A look at Blaise and Theo showed their joint confusion, though Blaise seemed a bit more jealous. But he fancied Bella so that wasn't shocking, not that she realised it. She wasn't very good at realising that people, like Blaise and Hermione, were interested in her.

"Don't worry, Neville," Bella assured him. "We'll think of something to save you from your family. I'm not just gonna let this shite continue."

"Thanks…"

Well he  _had_  been secretly wanting some of them to die for the past two years, so someone offering to simply put a hit on his relatives shouldn't really offend him.

Yeah, he wasn't offended in the least. That should be concerning but in all honesty, he really hated his relatives and didn't actually consider them to be family at all.

"I think we can all agree that this never leaves this compartment," Luna said quietly but firmly. "And since it literally never will I know you all agree with me."

Well that was settled then! Bella's somewhat nefarious actions would remain a secret within their group and no one else would ever find out! It would be safer for her anyway.

In his opinion, they all took it rather well. Other people would be screaming about  **'potential Dark Lady'**  and ridiculous things of that nature.

Well, he cast a look in her direction, she  _was_  a bit different when it came to handling specific situations. She had a Grey magical core. She was kind of violent naturally. And she was very much willing to do even illegal things in order to protect those she deemed her friends. Like Blaise had said, the Slytherins viewed those friends as her followers and by extension, they received benefits from ' _following_ ' her.

So if he looked at it in a sense, Bella had all the makings to become a Dark Lady. Money. Charisma. Attitude. Fearlessness. Ambition. Cunning. Loyalty.

Neville did not miss the very telling stare down he was getting from Luna. Her Quibbler was still upside down, but remained as it was, blocking the bottom half of her face so only her usually unfocused gaze could stare him down. But her eyes were unnaturally clear and telling, and made him shiver.

He felt as if she'd caught his thoughts while they flitted through his head, and he wouldn't be surprised if she somehow had. Luna knew things. She probably knew about him realising Bella's capacity for violence and the danger she could present to the world as a whole if she ever wanted to be like that.

The blonde nodded only once and merely said in a whispy tone, "It's our choices that define us."

She then went back to reading, and Neville went back to thinking.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker%27s_Dracula)]** Gary Oldman, who portrayed Sirius Black in the films, played Count Dracula  
>  in Bram Stoker's Dracula(1992).
> 
> **[2]** Those are actually my Hogwarts playlists I mentioned. I thought why don't  
>  we add some drama and give Hermione more to work on cuz she's a spazz?

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer before 4th year!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I am so ill and it made editing this chapter take forever.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Lord Voldemort's wand had been kept in the Department of Mysteries after his defeat back in 2001. It was considered a trophy of sorts and Peter remembered reading the paper that announced they had his robes and wand and exactly where they would be placed for the near future. It was the very thing that prompted him to flee because he knew that his former friends would be coming after him in no time.

He's chosen wrong. In what he'd thought would be the winning side, he instead found only terror and mass bullying. Azkaban had been a horrible place and most of the Death Eaters there believed him to be unfaithful. They would scream threats at him when they were of mind to do so. They thought he'd played their Lord the entire time and lied so he'd walk into a trap. This was the only way to prove them wrong now. The only way he'd remain on wheat he was certain would be the winning side.

If he helped the Dark Lord return to his former glory, then he would be held in higher esteem than any of the others. Sure it was Bellatrix who had gotten them out of Azkaban, but this was a job Peter could do easily and without capture. He'd done many things like this ever since he'd mastered his Animagus form. It was what the Marauders used him for the most after all.

And when Peter did his duty and earned his Lord's admiration, he'd be worth more than any other besides Bellatrix, and considering she was their Lord's favourite, right beneath her was a good place to be no matter what.

Getting into the Ministry was easy. Far easier than sneaking around Hogwarts had been. At the school there were portraits attuned to the Headmaster's wishes, watching every single thing that happened in the corridors. There were few corridors with no portraits at all actually. In the Ministry there was nothing of that nature, making it easier to get to and from places. And they'd set up no wards against Animagi despite knowing a Death Eater Animagus was on the loose alongside someone they weren't certain was an Animagus.

This was enough proof of the Ministry's incompetence. Being on their side during the war hadn't in any way proven to be beneficial. Not with them being constantly made a mockery of by both the Dark Lord and the crackpot old foll Dumbledore. When the Order of the Phoenix reached the Dark lord's raids faster than the Aurors, plus had the Death Eaters on the run in no time after their arrival, it was proof enough that the Ministry wasn't worth believing in. So it was either Dumbledore or Voldemort to choose. Voldemort had seemed like he was winning the war even if he lost the smaller battles here and there.

Getting to the Department of Mysteries was easy enough for Peter, it was merely finding the room he needed that became difficult. His vision wasn't the best as a rat, especially after a decade in Azkaban with lacklustre attention to his health, and from his limited height, he couldn't see the plates on the doors, so changing back and forth as quickly as possible all to find the room in question, was more stressful than it should have been. Yet some people randomly decided they  _needed_  to walk through this Department of all things, now of all days.

The Dark Antiques room was said to hold some of the most memorable Dark Artifacts of British Magical History. He didn't know what most of the things inside were, but that didn't matter at present because he wasn't there for those things. All he had to do was replace the real Yew Wand, with the fake one Bellatrix had created on the spot. It was as simple as that. Thank Merlin for the transfiguration of the Animagus spell allowing him to keep whatever was in his pockets, on his person even while transfigured!

For not the first time in his life, Peter Pettigrew was reminded of how simple wizards were if they didn't even place the Dark Lord's wand inside of something that would be protected. They hadn't even put it in a box or behind a showcase window of a sort. It was just out there, resting on a red, velveteen cushion upon a wooden shelf titled,  **'Dark Artifacts of the 20th Century'**.

The ease of which retrieving the wand had come, was almost disappointing. Filching McGonagall's knickers had been easier back in school. The Ministry was just a laugh these days.

To celebrate though, Peter made a small detour while leaving in order to pay their  _darling_  leader a visit. And when Fudge returned from wherever he was at present, there would be a few little gifts awaiting him in his office.

Getting used to relieving himself anywhere in rat form had been easy years ago and now it was like second nature. Peter was too far gone in this persona to care anymore. Hopefully Fudge felt the need to drink some tea when he got back.

It was petty revenge, but that's what the arse got for not even bothering to follow the law and give him a fair trial! Sure, he was guilty of everything he was going to prison for, but the law called for a fair trial to  _everybody_  and by breaking that law, Fudge had proved himself no better.

And the Light wondered why no one on the Dark side like the Ministry or how it was handled?

Soon he would be back with his Lord and he would obtain favour in the man's eyes once again. And perhaps he'd forget about those threats he'd made the other day.

* * *

Tom stared at the shack that was supposedly home to the Gaunt family. Or rather, the branch from a century ago that had mostly died out by now. The best way to describe it was indeed as a shack because it was rundown, rotted wood that was covered in growing ivy. Nature was taking over as it was wont to do. There was a snake skeleton peaking out of the ground in front of the door where a large nail had been shoved into the now putrefying wood. Obviously someone had nailed a snake to the door and after enough time had passed, it had decomposed.

He didn't want to go inside, but he also didn't want to just walk away. He knew from the memories of the Locket, that Voldemort had gone here in order to inquire about his origins. He knew that there was an old Ring inside the building that contained a piece of his soul. And he knew that he had to retrieve that to keep it from Voldemort's hands. It had the second largest piece of soul out of the created Horcruxes after all. All he had to do was absorb that part and then he'd be even more naturally powerful than Voldemort.

With a sigh, Tom hissed at the wards, causing them to drop instantly. They'd been set by himself after all, only decades ago. So useful to know that the Locket had all the necessary information for him to steal back what was rightfully his and to keep his other self from becoming even more of a nuisance than he had become.

The room was small when he entered. There was dust piled upon everything and cobwebs strung throughout the furniture. It obviously hadn't been lived in, in a long time and it smelled of stale air and mildew. And right there on the small mantel in the far back of the hovel, was a golden Ring.

The Horcrux.

He could feel it like a tingling at the nape of his neck. Much like how he felt whenever Bella had come near the Diary. It was cold and felt so much like him that when he actually touched it, he felt overwhelmed for a moment.

It was a good thing he would have the entire summer to absorb the soul piece within because one quarter of a soul piece was rather large compared to the Locket. But this time he already at the memories it would possess, so surely he should feel less ill with this one? He'd essentially dealt with this one already in spirit.

None of the books every described what it was like absorbing multiple soul pieces because no one before Voldemort had been foolish enough to split their soul more than once!

Tom turned the ugly, gold Ring over in his hand, feeling the chill of the oddly shaped black stone set within it. It too was hideous. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like this. What people were thinking an eon ago, he couldn't even begin to understand, but this was not fashionable in the least.

Once the soul piece was removed, he'd send the Ring to Bella. He had no need of it and felt no connection it beyond the connection Voldemort had created between them. It was a Gaunt family heirloom and Bella, as a Pureblood, technically held more rights to the Ring than Tom did. And oddly enough, because it was Bella, he didn't mind giving it up.

If it was someone else Tom would have told them to ' _go pound sand_ ' as Bella would say.

Turning for the door, Tom's mind was made up.

* * *

**TURNT4BL3S:**  Will you be competing in the Junior Grand Prix this season?

**BP2M:**  Yep! I will finally be old enough to go into Juniors and we've already begun  
working on my programs!

Ah, her programs! She was so excited because this meant music with vocals was allowed in the following seasons! And it was going to be difficult to choose music that didn't overshadow the story of the performance, but she was excited!

They didn't get to do this in Aaliyah's day so it was an entirely new thing for her generation of skaters to deal with.

And she knew why it was now allowed. Attention to the sport was falling and the ISU felt that perhaps vocals might broaden the possibilities as well as bring new attention and interest in once again. If a program had the perfect mix of story components from the skater and the singer, then it'll get views, especially with YouTube videos becoming even more popular now and news sites having their own channels to report on.

A lot of people had more access to the internet than they did to the telly. It was basically a marketing move. Skating wasn't cheap and everything that went into setting up the events wasn't cheap either.

It was a risky move and the upcoming season was going to prove if it was work it or not. She knew it would because it simply had to and Bella wasn't taking failure as an option.

**Pip3rPip3r:**  Did you see the Arkham Knight gameplay trailers? It's looks super good!

**BP2M:**  YES I DID AND MY BODY IS READY! I want to just have a never-ending need  
for the Batmobile and nothing else! The battle-mode looks like it's gonna be the best  
and I can't wait! Also, the cape and gliding mechanics look a lot better. The graphics  
are finer too. This one will hopefully be better than Origins.

**Pip3rPip3r:**  Yeah, we don't know her!

**BP2M:**  Same.

Bella was super excited for another Batman game actually made by rocksteady! Meaning it would actually fit along with the storyline really well and the art styles would match, and the voices would be better because everyone from the rocksteady team would actually be involved!

Origins was... that homophobic uncle no one wanted at the family reunion.

The switch up from Arkham City to that hadn't been the best. And yes, rocksteady needed more time in between releases but come on!

Bella hated Arkham Origins.

**RidingCrops &Morgues:** at 2:47 what was that little thing you did it looked cool?

**BP2M:**  That is called a Cantilever. It's a figure skating move that is very difficult to do  
and I've been working on it for years. I've mostly got it down by now and I want to be  
able to use it as a transition into an Axel Jump at some point. That will give me more  
points due to difficult entry.

**RidingCrops &Morgues:** Cool. Good luck! :)

She was so much closer to mastering the basic move itself, and she was super excited about it too!

And then she'd give the skating world something new to talk about. It was all about stirring up conversation and gathering as much attention as possible to keep people invested in her career. If she kept doing amazing things, people would keep up with her life. Simple.

Also it would bring in views and the ISU wanted those views desperately in order to keep skating alive and well! If she managed to be the one bringing in those views, it would look better for her later on!

It was about business!

**Destiel4life:**  Do you watch Supernatural?

**BP2M:**  I don't watch much telly at all, sorry.

Save for a few programmes recorded here and there, she wasn't that into television.

Something about waiting for episodes frustrated her. She preferred films because it was usually a one sitting kind of deal unless it was a saga.

Bella was more into video games when she had the time to play them.

**The_Raging_Fannibal:** If you could meet a famous celebrity who would it be and  
why?

**BP2M:**  Do you mean like an actor/actress or ANY profession?

**The_Raging_Fannibal:**  Acting.

**BP2M:**  Signorney Weaver. I have a massive crush on her and she gives me life.  
Outside of acting it would totally be Yuna Kim because she is my skating idol!

Even Bella had celebrity crushes! No normal crushes as of yet though.

That could change eventually of course.

**Sally Evans:**  Are you allowed to start working on Quad Jumps yet?

**BP2M:**  Not really. I try them anyway. Aaliyah might know though, I'm not sure.

Aaliyah was sneaky like that. She sometimes knew stuff when she totally shouldn't.

Though if she wasn't going to bring it up, neither was Bella. Bella didn't stop doing something she shouldn't until she was confronted about it.

**ABC123DoReMi:** Are you only going to using triples now since you can do them?  
And will they still call you cheater een though you do alot of them all the times?

**BP2M:**  There will always be people complaining about others they think are better  
than them. I'm never going to escape that no matter what I do. I can only hope my  
hard work continues to prove them wrong in the end. As for Triples, I want my work  
to consist mostly of them but Aaliyah is of a different opinion. She puts more worth  
into PCS than TES. She doesn't want me only doing super hard jumps all the time.  
And the hard jumps aren't really safe tbh. Skaters who fall a lot are more at risk of  
major injuries to the legs and hips. I rarely fall anymore but I do need to be safe.

It sucked, but it was how it was.

**J4S0N_Bro:**  What's that place you went to for lunch and what did you get?

**BP2M:**  Antonio's. It's a place in Central London across from St. John's Chapel. I  
ordered the Ever'Greens Salad with Feta Cheese and no creme.

* * *

"Alright, son. Your grandmother has been in contact with Albus and they both want your training intensified," Moody said that morning when he arrived out of the blue.

The absolute mortification he was feeling could not be contained. Neville didn't know why Albus Dumbledore was inserting himself into something that was none of his business. Things were difficult enough as they were and Neville did  _not_  need this right now!

"Why?" was all he could ask because it made no sense! What did Dumbledore have to do with his training?

Moody's scarred face twisted into an ugly frown that made him look more sever than normal. "Can't be certain, but he's almost as paranoid as I am. My belief is that he thinks the Potter girl isn't living up to the hype and so he's using you as a back up."

Neville was the last person to be a replacement for the Girl-Who-Lived. Hell, Bella was literally better than he and Prunella put together. He wouldn't wish whatever this was concerning Voldemort on his friend of course, but still. Why Neville?

"You were one of the children the prophecy could have spoken of, so Albus might be covering as many bases as he can in case. Albus never does anything without reason, lad, remember that. And with the Dark Tosser out there still, he's lookin' to take him down for good!"

He needed to write Bella a letter because this was a problem that he did not know how to solve.

"Now pick up your wand and assume Form C! The best we can do is at prepare you!"

* * *

**What are you up to this summer?**

Bella's whole summer was going to be jam-packed, but she had remembered that it was nice to ask after her friends and their interests.

Hermione was going to be in Brussles for however long, getting acquainted with the magical community there, and Blaise and Theo were going to be traveling to Italy for a while. Neville was trapped with his grandmother and the hell training from the ex-Auror, and Luna would be visiting Prue a lot because the Lovegoods lived near the Weasleys.

_Highmaster Karkaroff has been ever so kind as to let me stay at the school over the holiday._   
_He sees it as some sort of duty, shall we say, to the Dark Lord's son._

**You're loving this, aren't you?**

Everything was just going so well for Tom. Honestly, Bella wondered if perhaps he was the one with a Twice-Blessed ability because he was ridiculously lucky. She'd never met someone so fortunate!

And thing was, Voldy was completely unaware of Tom's plans. Though to be honest, Bella was pretty unaware of them too, but Tom was actually on her side in this so she was above the Master Death Muncher.

But still! Tom was this far into it and Voldy hadn't found out about him yet? What was he doing out in the world?

_Indeed I am, dear Bella. The amount of terror he has when he looks at make makes me_   
_want to cackle. He gave up so many of his fellow Death Eaters to avoid an eternity within_   
_Azkaban, and he is terrified over what may happen to him now that his past has basically_   
_come to haunt him._

**Honestly, signing himself up for that crap means he deserves this stress. I don't**   
**feel an ounce of pity for him.**

_Good. You shouldn't. He is filth of the highest order and not worth your generosity. Most_   
_people aren't. Remember that._

**Such sweet words, Tom.**

_Not this again._

**But you're being so sweet, Tom!**

It was like he hated to be reminded that he was nice.

Or at least that he had nice moments. Tom wasn't the most decent bloke out there, but at least he had his moments.

He was certainly better than a lot of the people Bella had met in her lifetime.

_I am not! I am merely looking out for you. I wouldn't do this for other people. I hate_   
_people._

**And that's why it's sweet. Being liked by someone who hates everyone is the**   
**best feeling!**

_And you say I'm the drama queen._

Bella had to laugh! In this they were evenly matched.

Ironic how perfect of a duo they made!

**You are a drama queen. There's no escaping the truth, Tom! Your other self**   
**literally cursed a teaching position because he didn't get what he wanted!**

_Speaking of that, your godfather did not die, get irreparably injured, or get removed_   
_from his post so will he still be teaching next term?_

**Actually, I didn't think to ask him. I'm assuming so. Maybe Voldy said it like**   
**'no man may teach' and since Remus is technically not considered a human**   
**anymore because he's a Werewolf, maybe he doesn't count in the curse?**

_Magic does find loopholes._

**Magic is a Slytherin.**

_Essentially. It can never truly be controlled by anyone no matter how it may seem_   
_to be easy to control._

And if that wasn't a life lesson to take to heart!

A lot of people could really stand to realise that.

**I've been thinking a lot lately and I wanted to know if we're ever going to**   
**officially meet up?**

_I will meet you in the coming year, Bella. Don't worry._

**That sounds suspicious. You know something I don't know don't you?**

_What makes you think that?_

**Because you're ridiculously confident and you don't even have a reason to**   
**be. So there's something else going on here and I wanna know what's up.**

She wouldn't put it past Tom to be scheming because he was a bloody Slytherin and they literally were a House of schemers. It would be more shocking if Tom  _wasn't_  scheming something.

Also, she just didn't like not being in the know either. A trait they both shared.

_It's a surprise that extends far past the both of us. You won't even truly be involved_   
_but I'd rather you be surprised so I'm not going to tell you anything and you won't_   
_be able to get it out of me. You've nothing left to bribe me with now that I'm free_   
_of the Diary for good._

**Dammit! Is it at least interesting?**

_I personally think so. Even I'm a bit excited for it._

**Tom Riddle? Excited about something not exclusively about him?**

_It's actually Tomas Night now._

**That doesn't sound very magical. No offense. I know how you get with the**   
**whole magic thing.**

What could it be that would even get Tom hyped?

And when did he go and get his name legally changed? Tomas sounded weird.

_I'm known as a Halfblood here, and that I took on my deceased mother's surname._   
_I originally was going to go with Maas Nacht but decided against it._

**Why?**

_I didn't want to feign a German accent for any extended period of time._

**Ah! Laziness. Gotcha!**

It was nice to know that even Tom fell prey to it!

She would never let him live it down!

_Not laziness, it just seemed cumbersome._

**Essentially… you didn't want to do extra work. Laziness. It's okay to**   
**admit it. You're human like the rest of us.**

_Faking a German accent wouldn't have benefited me in any capacity, so I chose_   
_the English version of the name and stuck with it. Simple._

**I'm still hung up on the fact that even the great Tommy boy experiences**   
**the very human desire to not do work!**

_I hate you._

That had to be his favourite line!

Bella was rubbing off on him in some ways and she was so proud of herself! Soon he'd be swearing and she couldn't wait for it! She really needed Tom to say 'fuck' and then she'd be set for life!

**No you don't! I'm the best damn thing that's ever happened to you and**   
**you know it!**

_I refuse to answer that. You don't need a bigger ego than the one you already have_   
_blown up for yourself._

**Do you really want to talk about egos, I Am Lord Voldemort?**

_Stop holding his actions against me!_

Her poor, delusional Tom. How was he to live if Bella didn't remind him of his dramatics and faults?

She'd be a poor friend if she failed to do so!

**You made that little anagram while still in school. Before the Diary was made**   
**a Horcrux! That is all on you!**

**And furthermore, you ignored all the many better names you could have made!**   
**Tom Marvolo Riddle. Immortal Odd Lover. Mild Doormat Lover. Mr Tom A Dildo**   
**Lover. Mortal Dildo Mover. Immortal Love Rodd. And so on and so forth! XD XD**

_I hate you so much._

**XD XD XD XD XD XD XD**

And yes, Bella had spent time going over the possible anagrams for his name and had laughed herself silly with all of them, especially Mr Tom A Dildo Lover and Mortal Dildo Mover! They were the absolute best and she would never let him live it down!

They would be his new nickname from now on.

**I love fucking with you because you just make it so much fun, dude!**

_I really wish you hadn't told me what a dildo was so I could have gone without knowing_   
_what all of those names truly mean._

**If you didn't want to know you shouldn't have asked!**

_I KNOW THAT! I'M REGRETTING IT LIKE I SAID!_

**IT'S NOT THAT BAD! TAKE A CHILL PILL!**

_I still hate you._

**:) Chill, Mr Tom A Dildo Lover.**

* * *

"Snakey snakey, pretty snakey!"

Voldemort watched as Bellatrix floated Nagini into the room of his foolish father's family home. Nagini did not like to be held and since she'd eaten recently her speed had been impaired by the extra weight and she had to be transported quickly by other means.

"Where shall you have her, my Lord?" Bellatrix asked breathlessly, looking upon his disgusting form with adoration. No matter what happened she would never cease to be impressed by him. That kind of blind loyalty was very useful.

"She'll know. How goes the search?"

Nagini was placed on the cold floor and hissed her displeasure at the turn of events. § **Tom, I don't like her! She smells terrible and kept bouncing me!** § Nagini hissed in agitation while slithering up the side of his chair.

§ _ **You know how much I don't like that name, dearest,**_ § he chided.

If it was possible, she snorted. § _ **And you know how much I don't care. You will always be Tom to me. Now stop whinging like a child and do what you've come to make habit.**_ §

She was a snappish thing. Had always been like that ever since he'd met her. He let her get away with it because Nagini was different than most others and he actually liked her company compared to anyone else.

Milking Nagini helped him maintain his form. And the entire process unnerved Wormtail to no end! It was amusing to make him quiver in fear and disgust that he was too terrified to show.

"Wormtail has found the Ministry woman, my Lord. He's sent word of her schedule. She'll be visiting Crouch Snr. come the morrow."

Then they too will go and visit. Bertha Jorkins was necessary for his plans. All of them.

"Do you wish to aid your Lord further, Bella?"

She nodded almost madly, excited at the prospect of being useful.

"Find me any information you can on the TriWizard Tournament." It wouldn't do for him to not have a few contingencies in place just in case. Wormtail should be returning any time with his original wand as well.

* * *

"You didn't want to do the whole church thing, right?" Bella asked as she added black, lace ribbons to each individual baggy. "Seems kinda tedious now that I think about it. A lot of work and effort. And money. A waste of money too."

Both Aaliyah and Deborah nodded in unison. "We don't want to have to do the whole buying special decorations for two separate venues," Deborah added. "The single venue is fine. The cake was pre-ordered months ago. We've each gotten our outfits separately from that Twilfitt and Tattings place, and all we know is that they colour-coordinate and that's it. It's a surprise."

"I don't have to wear a dress, right? 'Cause I got my eye on this awesome purple suit that's in the window of that shop and I want it really badly." Bella would look awesome in a suit! The blazer was damn fine too.

"No, kiddo. You don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to," Aaliyah assured her with a pat on the arm. "Just wear something acceptable for a wedding party."

"Awesome. How many of these are we making?"

Deborah leaned over the side of the brown sofa to see the RSVP list on the end table. "So far we have seventy-two confirmed guests. I'd say make one hundred and fifty just in case. I like to be doubly prepared because you never know who might show up."

Aaliyah was nodding along, looking nostalgic. "I remember you used to carry multiple pairs of skates to every competition too."

"Accidents can happen at any time and I didn't want to be unprepared!" Deborah said, face tinting pink just the slightest. "And my forethought ended up being very useful on many occasions if you'll recall!"

"Yeah, yeah. You were right, I was wrong. I know this age old tale very well."

The two continued to lightly bicker back and forth, and Bella rolled her eyes as she tied another ribbon around a baggy. They were party favours or something like that. Each filled with biscuits purchased from Aaliyah's favourite bakery which was also where the cake was coming from. The bags would be placed in the center of the round tables at the reception and there would be one for each guest. Plus extra just in case. And those extra would be filling Bella's stomach at some point she was certain.

The wedding was literally right upon them. None of them ever thought it would happen but now it finally was. Bella was excited simply because she'd been watching these two do their little song and dance for years. It was nice that they would finally settle down now.

And it wasn't like things were changing much. It was just a piece of paper with their names on it basically. But marriage afforded both spouses certain benefits when it came to each other that they didn't have without a familial bond between them. So it was better this way especially in the event of injury or possible death.

The rings were… to no one's surprise, plain. Neither woman was into sparkles or gold. Just simple, silver bands. On the outside of both were the words,  **'Forever & Always'** engraved and polished to perfection.

If Bella ever got married, she'd want to engrave her ring too. But there would be no white. Ridiculous virgin tradition be damned or whatever, Bella would be in a purple suit just because she wanted to be.

For their honeymoon week, Bella would be hanging out with Sirius and Remus, and Prue when she came over. Everything was planned out perfectly.

* * *

Bella felt strange. In many ways. Something odd was going on and she couldn't pinpoint what exactly, but she just knew something was wrong and she did not like it.

She was inside an old, dusty room. The hearth had a fire going, but it was poorly managed and looked about ready to go out. She was sitting in some chair far larger than she was she realised, and everything smelled of dust and stale air. A skip would have been more preferable.

The room was completely unfamiliar to her and the man occasionally coming in and out of her line of view was foreign to her. He looked rough though and she was minutely concerned over what had happened to him to make him look so… unwell.

" _My Lord, the preparations are coming along nicely,_ " the man stated as he dropped to his knees before Bella's chair.

Bella's mouth opened without her consent, and a voice that was definitely not her own, came out. " _Well done, Barty. Will you have enough of the potion come September?_ "

" _Yes, my Lord!_ " 'Barty' answered, his voice shaking just a bit. He looked like a stiff wind would knock him over. He needed ten thousand meals and probably the dying fire more than anyone in the room.

Bella had no idea what was going on. She didn't know why her voice was different. Didn't know why the man kept calling her 'my lord'. Didn't even know where she was or what was going on.

" _Well done,_ " the whispery voice that was not Bella's, said. Barty practically blossomed just from those two words and his entire demeanour brightened with unconcealed joy.

" _My Lord… are you certain one of us cannot simply sacrifice ourselves for you?_ "

The whisper voice exploded out of Bella in a sharp, " _No! The girl is necessary! She will die so I may live! I need you three alive to aid me further!_ "

Barty was properly cowed immediately. " _Yes, my Lord. Wormtail and Bellatrix will do their best to help._ "

§ _ **There's a muggle man standing outside the door. He had a key to the house.**_ §

Bella's awareness snapped into focus when she heard the Parseltongue coming from somewhere behind them. A snake's head dropped down beside her/not-her face. She was a beautiful serpent though Bella didn't know what breed.

The whisper-voice hummed. " _Nagini tells me the old muggle caretaker is standing outside, listening in._ "

Barty looked off to the side and his face broke into a smirk that made him look deranged.

" _Let our guest in, Barty. We mustn't be rude. All those years haven't taken your manners, have they?_ "

The sound of a door opening alerted Bella to the muggle's entrance. Her chair was turned suddenly and all she saw before a flash of green light filled her vision, was the terrified, weathered face of an old man.

" **Avada Kedavra**!"

Bella sat up in her bed, blinking furiously at the bright light flooding her vision. It was like she'd stared into a light-bulb for several seconds and now couldn't see anything else. And what was even worse, was the ache in her chest. Specifically the scar that Voldemort had given her all those years ago and the soul piece that resided within it.

Her head felt like it would split apart from the sharp pain behind her eyeballs. It was like the Horcrux was acting up all over what she had just seen.

Somehow… Bella had dreamed herself into Voldemort's body. A very small and feeble body if he couldn't even move on his own and needed someone to move a whole chair for him. And being connected to him in any way had set the Horcrux in her off. Was it going to be like that if she ever faced him in real life? Would she be paralyzed with pain every time?

And what did he mean when he told that Barty bloke,  _'she will die so I may live'_? Who was the 'she' they were talking about? Bella or Prue? She wasn't stupid enough to think he meant some other girl because he would hold no other grudges she was certain.

Voldemort had a body of a sort again and he was planning not good things! Why couldn't he just go choke? Bella and Prue's careers were about to take off, they didn't have time for his dramatics! He even had Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange at his beck and call again! They'd found him!

And she couldn't tell anyone because it was her decision to keep quiet on the who GWL thing. Well… anyone but Tom that is.

Maybe Tom would know what to do. He was basically the original Voldy. Maybe he'd have some kind of idea.

* * *

**Yo! I need your mind for a second!**

_Why, hello to you too, Bella. It's so nice to speak with you in the middle of the night._   
_I wasn't planning on sleeping any time soon._

**Dude, this time is legit. All seriousness. I need your help since you and Prue**   
**are the only ones I can talk to and writing a letter will take too long when I**   
**can just magic book you in seconds.**

_Fine. What is wrong?_

**I dreamed I was in Voldemort's body.**

Now that she gave it some consideration, that didn't actually sound right to the ear. And she could only wonder what was going through Tom's mind after reading that. Suddenly, Bella was filled with the urge to specify.

**By that I mean inside his body like it was my own but with no control over it**   
**was movements.**

_Do you have any inkling as to how that happened? Are you even certain you were_   
_really in his body and not just dreaming?_

**I woke up with my curse scar hurting, as well as the Horcrux giving me a**   
**whopping migraine. On top of that, I was in his body the whole time.**

_What happened._

Bella told him about what she'd seen and heard. And felt oddly enough.

The Barty dude. The snake. The muggle's death. All of it.

_That doesn't sound too good. He specified September, and school starts then, meaning_   
_he's after you or your twin and this Barty fellow needs a massive supply of some type_   
_of potion in order to get one of you for this 'sacrifice' he's got in mind. And any time a_   
_'sacrifice' is involved it'll be Dark Magic which can be dangerous._

**And then he has got Wormtail and Bellatrix Lestrange on his side and she is a**   
**damn mess, but a powerful mess. They finally found him and Lord only knows**   
**what they've been getting up to recently. No odd crimes have been committed**   
**at least but maybe he's having them lay low for now.**

The Daily Prophet hadn't been exploding with murmurs of danger or anything. Almost as if they forgot about the breakout to begin with.

No one had somehow acquired illegal items out of nowhere. No Death Eater sightings had come about.

The common level of crime was actually pretty low considering all the drama going on with Azkaban and the Ministry trying to fix its fuck ups with the multitude of families collectively going after its throat for breaking the law.

Perhaps that was the most suspicious thing of all. The lull in crime.

_That's what I would do, but it isn't as if he and I are the same any longer. I do have an_   
_idea of what he wants this Barty fellow to do come September however._

**?Impart this knowledge, dude!? At least prepare my arse for the drama!**

Then at least she wouldn't get blindsided.

Friends give friends a hand!

_The TriWizard Tournament is being reinstated. I wanted it to remain a surprise for you_   
_but it might be necessary. It would be easy to kidnap a student amidst the bustle of the_   
_tournament because Hogwarts is hosting students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons in_   
_the upcoming year. This means there will be dozens of officials from all the governments_   
_lingering in the area and disappearing one of you wouldn't be too difficult among the big_   
_crowds at the events being held._

**Is there any way he could mess with the tournament thing itself?**

_I doubt it. He wouldn't have access to any Ministry officials to even find out the details._

**But Wormtail's a rat Animagus and he can get in and out of place unseen. That's**   
**what he was used for back when James was in school. He knows how to get into**   
**places and then get out without being seen.**

_You have a point. He needs one of you alive for a 'sacrifice' so he can presumably get a_   
_working body once again, so he won't want you dead before the ritual he has in mind,_   
_needs to take place. But you said he taught your First Year and knows you're good at_   
_Defence._

**I hate this guy. Just fyi.**

Honestly, Voldy was one of those people who just needed to stop.

Get it through his thick skull that he was a failure and go hide in a skip for the rest of his extended life. Oscar the Grouch was a good example basically. Voldy was halfway there already with his misanthropic arse polluting the world.

His first run was a failure and he was even less sane than the first time. There was literally no hope for him to somehow come back from such a Loss. Just accept the past for what it was, and move the fuck on!

The amusing thing in all of this was that she honestly viewed James and Lily as far worse than Voldy. He was like some Disney villain on crack compared to two idiots who at one point in time had complete control over her life and seemed to be trying once again to regain it. They were more present than Voldy was so they were more of a concern.

_I am of the same opinion._

**What do we do?**

_I think the only thing we can do is be alert. And tell your sister so she can ready herself_   
_as well._

**You included yourself in that 'we'.**

_I'll be with the delegation heading over to Hogwarts, dear Bella. We'll finally get to meet_   
_face to face like you've been wanting._

**AWESOME! This was what you were planning to keep secret all summer?**

_Yes. You should read up on the tournament so you aren't surprised about it later on. Merlin_   
_knows those British dimwits would wait until the first day back to tell you instead of warning_   
_you. We were warned in May. The papers know how important the secret is to the British so_   
_none of the foreign papers have mentioned it._

That wasn't fair!

**Why do we get this info last?**

_Minister Fudge is an idiot._

**A twat of the highest order.**

_That as well._

**Is this like a multi-person thing?**

_One champion is chosen to represent each school competing. There;s been an age limit set_   
_this year compared to former years however. When you read up on it, you will understand_   
_why. No one under the age of 16 may enter. I managed to convince the Highmaster to add_   
_that._

**Because you're sixteen. You conniving fox! You think you'll be chosen!**

_Of course I will. I have always been magically talented and I could really put that 1,000_   
_Galleon prize money to good use. A lot can be done with that much gold, dear Bella._

**Damn. You've got some lofty ambitions there, Tommy!**

_Go back to calling me, dude. It's less annoying than Tommy._

**XD Sure thing, dude!**

* * *

"Working on your Junior debut means we need to consider things more fully. You are, on official documents on this side, about to be fourteen. Fourteen is a good age to experiment with your skating especially if you've managed to perfect all your Triple Jumps in a singular manner. Now we need to work on Combination Jumps and Jump Sequences. Specifically unique ones."

Ah! Those were always more of a challenge! Doing a lone jump was comparably easier. Things got more tricky when it came to pairing jumps together in combination.

"We are going to start with the 3T-3T, then 3Lz-3T, and then 3F-3T."

"Those are Yuna Kim's signature jump combos," Bella noted with a grin, excited now that one of her faves was coming into play.

"Exactly. You don't have a signature move yet, but perfecting the signature moves of others might help you find your own place."

Bella wanted one of her signature moves to be the Y Spiral, but without using her hands to hold her leg up. She'd been working on her left side more than her right to make them more even and could now hold that leg up by her own core strength as well. It was simply more impressive in her eyes, to do it that way.

"You have technique," said Aaliyah, "which puts you ahead of some others, but not all of them. Skaters are becoming more daring as of late and many Juniors are doing Triples on the regular. Yuna Kim was doing Triple Combos in competition by the time she started as a Junior at fourteen."

Yeah, she was awesome.

Doing Combo Jumps dealt a lot with weight distribution and how to properly land and then take off soon afterward. Proper body placement was imperative and knowing where the limbs were was super important. Arms close to the body to prevent over-rotation, and legs bent a certain way.

"Once you start getting the hang of the Combinations, we'll move on to transitions in and out of your jumps. Spread Eagles into Triple Axels are very popular right now. Imagine if you perfect the Cantilever and can do a Triple Axel immediately afterward. I'm sure you like that idea."

Yep! Suddenly Bella had all the inspiration she needed to get that damn move down already!

Juniors was going to be a blast!

"What's my theme this season? We did Spring last season and I don't want to do another seasonal one."

"Better yet, what's your musical choice going to be?" Aaliyah asked in return. "Now that lyrics are allowed in competition, you need to be very careful to not go overboard. Some will choose pop or rock songs and the music might overshadow the performance when the music is meant to enhance it instead. You need to think carefully about this so their attention remains on you and the story you are telling, and they aren't distracted by a song they like."

True. But Bella had all kinds of ideas. This opened up so many avenues. But it also made it so that when people did Carmen(because people  _always_  did Carmen) they would all have to literally  _hear_  the woman singing about rebellious birds and love. Bella got that it was catchy, but it became annoying after a while. That and Swan Lake. But Carmen was usually the go-to for Juniors and up.

Bella had a few ideas in mind so things would work out eventually she was certain.

* * *

"I look great in a suit," was Bella's main conclusion that evening. And it was the truth. She'd pulled some of her hair back into a half-pony and allowed the rest of hang free. It curled at the ends where it touched her lower back now.

Sirius whistled in amazement. "If you had been born about three decades ago, all of my cousins would have wanted to marry you."

"They're not even middle-aged yet, Padfoot," Remus said, "they would probably want to now if we're being honest."

Bella's face morphed into one of complete mortification. "I'm fourteen!"  _And three-quarters,_  she added mentally. Thank you, Magical Time Turners!

The two men shrugged. "Old enough for most wizarding families to force a marriage contract on you. They wouldn't care and the law allows an arranged marriage to commence when you are sixteen because of consent laws," Remus explained. "And so long as the one offering is under one hundred, most families would consider them because they could be fertile still."

Well thank God Sirius didn't believe in arranged marriages! That was just creepy! The thought of ninety year olds, even if they still looked like they were in their thirties, being allowed to date and marry teens without a second thought, was a bit weird. And something Hermione should totally be made aware of so she could fix it in the future!

"Well this got all awkward. Let's get inside before Aaliyah and Deborah arrive. And thank God you're both here. None of my friends could make it save for Amara and while I know their skating buddies and other work buddies, we aren't that far along for me to just chat with them whenever I please. I don't like people and dealing with them in mass quantities drains me."

A sad reality considering what her profession was.

The reception hall was large and decorated in black with various shades of light and dark blues. She'd already gotten looks at what her guardian and her wife would be wearing and they indeed matched, along with matching the decorations. Black lace was the right way to go since both would be in the same outfit but with a different shade of blue as the dress' main colour. Aaliyah's was a black lace covered, light blue split-necked dress with a tulip-flared skirt. Deborah's was the same but with a dark blue. Both complimented their opposing skin tones nicely.

And yes, the heels were out in full force too. Aaliyah was already tall and was always treated like crap when she wore heels. This time she just said _'eff it'_  and did what she wanted for once. Five inch death traps was the plan the last time Bell had heard.

It was great.

While the two lovebirds would be away on their honeymoon, Bella would be chillin' at Grimmauld Place for her birthday week with Prue.

Life was good.

* * *

"This is, without a doubt in your mind, the right move to make?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she sat down for her last breakfast as a member of the Chudley Cannons. After this last match in which they would be winning the Championships, she would be signing on to the Welsh National Team.

Prue nodded. "I know this was basically all James' plan but we're this deep in it and I've got no other skills. I've put my all into this and I actually like playing Quidditch no matter how stressful learning it was. It's also got decent pay that increases every year you remain on as a professional." With her own money not from the Potter coffers, Prue could buy herself anything she wanted.

She liked having things. She also liked having the money to buy those things. Using the money she'd personally earned meant she wouldn't feel obligated to pay anyone else back. A lot of Pureblood families tended to hang the mandated trust funds over the heads of their members. To guilt trip them. Once Prue had a job and was making her own money she'd begun to use her trust fund less and less as time passed, until she merely opened a new account and switched everything over just to prevent James from getting his greedy hands all over it.

Their greed was different. Prue was greedy and knew it. But unlike James who had the hoarding and competitive type of greed, Prue's was more subtle.

James was the kind to buy the best of the best just so others couldn't have it and so he could say that  _he_  did. It made him feel superior to them that way. He then had the habit of actively lording those things he'd acquired, over others to make them feel even worse.

Prue's was more along the lines of always spending too much and wanting new stuff and then giving it away when she got bored of it. And Prue  _always_  got bored of things which was why if it wasn't sport-related, she tended to struggle to finish playing with games or toys or doing homework because they got too easy to use and became boring. Prue was an over-spender because she didn't  _need_  any of the stuff she bought but she wanted it, prices be damned.

They went about their greed differently which was why Prue thought herself better than him. She at least donated her stuff when she lost interest in it. James merely shoved it in his vault and left it there where it would remain useless to everyone.

While she wasn't happy about what his original plan for her to be a professional Quidditch player had been, and that damn contract he'd drawn up, she was still on board with it for the most part. She'd already talked it over with Mrs. Weasley and Sirius to be sure. The new contract was ready to be signed. But the end of the day her contract with the CCs would be up and she'd be a 'free woman' as the term went. She was fourteen which was the required age limit, and she had at least two years of experience on a National Level Quidditch team.

"I'm certain if you decided you wanted to pursue something else, you'd be able to, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, looking sad. Prue kept forgetting that the woman was very concerned over everything. That things Prue'd gotten used to weren't exactly normal or okay and that of course Mrs. Weasley wouldn't approve of her line of thinking half the time.

"It's a much more dangerous version of the game in the professional circles."

"I know. I'm ready," she promised. "I've gotten the exposure to a team and how to interact with them. I know what mass training with others is like now. I'll be able to handle myself much better thanks to Remus helping me learn how to understand contracts and such."

She'd been a bit hopeless, but everyone had come together to support her dream even if they thought her to be a bit too young. Still, Prue would go spare if she didn't have something extra to do, and it was best for all of them that she had an outlet of some sort.

It wasn't like Prue had access to a Time Turner or anything. She couldn't just spend every single day doing schoolwork. That would become tedious quickly. Training at least once a week though, and then going out to dinner with the team, had been a nice break from it all. School was stressful when you weren't super intelligent. Not being the smartest kind of got you ignored but then also not trusted to an extent. It was all very confusing how the students who did worse academically were generally treated no better than criminals.

Like Fred and George. They got treated liek shite all the time for not being perfect like Bill, Charlie, or Percy. It had to really bring them down too.

"Everything'll be fine, Mrs. Weasley."

Their conversation was interrupted by Ron who ran through the back door, hair and face a mess that were covered in dirt as he said, "Hey, Lovegood's here to see you."

Luna had been visiting a lot over the course of the summer. She was always full of calm smiles and cryptic words, but always asked to go for a walk and Prue, because she honestly would feel bad if she just denied the younger girl, agreed. And then Luna would impart some kind of information upon her because for some reason she was clairvoyant or something.

Prue didn't ask because she wasn't sure if it was allowed or not, but she got the feeling Luna was a Seer. it was just how she acted and how the majority of people brushed her words off as nonsense that made it seemed like she had Cassandra's Curse. Always speaking the truth but no one really believing her.

Mrs. Weasley waved Prue on and she was out the back door seconds later to find Luna standing in the garden, holding up a golden, four-leaf clover that was sealed inside a small crystal ball that hung on a golden chain.

"Daddy and I fed it a diet of only Liquid Luck. If you keep this on you, good luck shall follow you all the days of your life," the girl said in a whispery tone, her eyes strangely focused. "I tried to have it ready for your birthday but it wasn't finished yet."

"Thanks." Liquid Luck wasn't cheap to make and feeding it steadily to plants was also time-consuming. It was a gift that took a lot of effort and resources. "You really didn't have to-"

"I  _wanted_  to," the blonde assured her with a serene smile. "You love it and you'll wear it during the Quidditch World Cup Final next week."

Well… if she said it was going to happen, it most likely would.

"Thanks, Luna."

"Can we go for a walk around the orchard again?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Um… the fire is ringing?"

Bella and Aaliyah looked up from their curry to see Deborah in the kitchen doorway, looking very confused. She was pointing over her pale shoulder. "The fire's all green and it's literally ringing like a landline would."

"You get to explain it," Bella told Aaliyah as she moved to go answer the Floo.

It ended up being McGonagall of all people.

"Hello, Ms. Potter. I was hesitant to come to you with this but seeing as our school does not have special courses toward the arts, you are the only person we could think of."

And now she was interested. "For what?"

"We will be entertaining students from Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic this coming year. Each school has mandatory dance classes for their students, but Hogwarts does not. It is a common tradition that each school puts forth an entertaining greeting for the others and in years past, the other two usually perform some kind of dance and magic combination. We don't have students specially trained in dance styles or unique magical application."

Oh! Bella was not only a figure skater, but also a dancer. And it was best she didn't let on that she knew about the visiting schools.

"Professor Flitwick can enchant instruments to play whatever music you'd request so long as you do something amazing."

"Where are the demonstrations held?"

McGonagall sighed in what looked to be relief. "In the Great Hall."

"Could you turn the floor into ice?"

"Easily."

"And when would the routine need to be ready?"

"The delegations will be arriving on 30 October. I have faith you can come up with something suitable by then, yes? You'll need to practice with Professor Flitwick of course and we'll gladly bring you over when necessary."

"I got an idea, don't worry," she told the Headmistress. It would be a cool way for the school to finally get an idea as to what Bella did for a living. And Tom would be there and he would get to see it too. "I'll come over tomorrow to begin if that's alright with you."

This was super exciting! Skating in the Great Hall was going to be awesome and she was going to use Blaise's gift from years ago to record it.

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Near-death experiences build character!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -NOTE: Reading comprehension is a thing and making use of it would benefit a  
> lot of you. Last chapter it was stated that the delegations from the other schools  
> would be arriving on October 30th. That is obviously when Bella will be skating,  
> but that is also 3 months away in-fic. I never said she'd be skating for everybody  
> in this chapter. Other things are happening in the magical world and they have to  
> get attention. Tom and Bella won't be meeting until Ch. 38. I'm currently writing  
> Ch. 41.
> 
> -Lucky for you, I will update Ch. 36 on Christmas, and the follow through with  
> the scheduled Friday update on the 28th.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

**To Whom It May Concern,**

**My name is Hermione Granger and I am going into my 4th Year at Hogwarts. I have been**  
**at the top of my year academically, since my first day in the castle. Even in our History of**  
**Magic class. Recently I was made aware of the fact that other students cannot accomplish**  
**the same level of work I do because we are different.**

 **I possess an eidetic memory and can easily teach myself through books, but others don't**  
**have that luxury. Not everyone learns the same way and it's unfair to expect the children**  
**as young as eleven to teach themselves a topic that most don't find interesting. While I've**  
**done very well in History of Magic, no one else has managed an Outstanding on any piece**  
**of work we have been given.**

 **I strongly believe that it's time for Hogwarts to get a new HoM professor. Someone who is**  
**engaging and capable of making things interesting. Professor Binns neglects every other**  
**part magical history and focuses only on Goblin Wars. Goblins do not make up the majority**  
**of our history and I believe it needs to be changed.**

 **A ghost is stuck in the past and cannot truly grasp the present. Please, for the sake of our**  
**education, fix this issue before we lose more capable minds.**

 **Thank you for your time,**  
**Hermione Jean Granger,**  
**Heiress Dagworth-Granger.**

* * *

It was like the sun had broken through the clouds. His grandmother had come to him and told him that Moody wouldn't be able to visit for the rest of the summer. Not that he didn't like the man, but he didn't want to train to be an Auror in the first place so this was nice.

"You better not spend the rest of the summer in that bloody greenhouse, boy!" his gran had told him, her frown as severe as her brow.

No matter what she said, he'd be in there for days if he could. And the House Elves would take his side no matter what, so the proof would be hard to find.

At least things seemed to be looking up a bit.

Though he had to wonder what Moody was doing that he couldn't come around for the rest of the summer.

* * *

"You think you'll be able to hold the team down while I'm gone?" Prue asked her now former Quidditch Captain. "Things are a lot better now with a little more confidence thrown in there. If you don't go in expecting to lose, you won't do so terribly. That''s like the basics in everything in life. You'd psyche yourself out otherwise."

Captain Holt nodded a bit reluctantly, his dark bald head shining in the sunlight. "You have made many points and with your help I think we may have broken that curse Puddlemere put on us all those years ago."

That was good.

In their last match as a team, they'd won the Championship game as expected, with an even more impressive turnout than any previous games they'd played together. And the points scored were more evenly distributed with each Chaser on the team earning them at least two hundred points each compared to when she'd first joined and they could barely make a single score, leaving Prue to take on the extra work.

Confidence, not arrogance, could go a long way in any profession. That was how her former teammates didn't hate her, because while she'd obviously been the best player among them all, she hadn't been an arsehole about it. Prue was  _not_  like James.

"Listen, kid," Holt began, placing a large hand on her thin shoulder, "when you join the big Leagues, don't let them get to you. You are the youngest among the International Teams, but you aren't the first fourteen year old to play Professional Quidditch Internationally. They won't outright dismiss you but you  _will_  be considered an underdog and you will have to prove yourself against Krum, who is the second youngest person currently in the International Quidditch League. He's the favourite, so you've really got to give it your all no matter the position you're playing in."

Prue nodded. Being the youngest in any sport would always bring forth some problems. Krum had gotten through the doubts after his first year and Prue would simply have to as well. She'd proven herself to the British and Irish Quidditch League, how much more work would the International Quidditch League really need?

"Don't be a stranger, Potter."

"I won't."

Just because she was a member of a new team now didn't mean she couldn't train with the Cannons now and then.

* * *

"You're coming to the World Cup Final, right?" Amara asked that afternoon while Bella was busy trying to kick all arse in Batman: Arkham City. Again because there was a severe lack in good video games as of late.

She paused the game in order to give her long-time friend her attention. Attention that ended up being a look full of disgust. "Quidditch is unappealing." And dangerous as all hell.

"Quidditch is  _awesome_ ," Amara asserted with a smirk. "You're just scared of brooms."

"They are unsafe!" Not a buckle in sight. Not a guarantee of safety even! She was not wrong to consider them a terrible creation for recreational use! They were death traps! She remembered what happened to Neville during his first Flying Lesson at school!

Amara waved off her dramatics. "My family will be going, and your sister will be going since she'll no doubt be playing after signing with the Welsh Team. Professional games on the International level get intense and Reserves are always required at some point. She's also a V so being able to play any position is useful in any country."

"What a 'V'?"

" **Versatile** ," explained Amara. "She can be anything on the pitch which is super useful and makes her the MVP in a sense. She can be called in to fill any role and be a success either way she goes. She's pretty good especially for her age."

Oh. That made sense. Magicals did things a lot different than muggles did when it came to sports. "I know Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys are going, and Blaise and Theo are going too."

"Everyone loves Quidditch. All your magic-raised friends will be there no matter what. Hermione might not have the opportunity to go though since she doesn't know where it is, how much the tickets are, how to acquire them, and how to get there. Most muggle-raised people don't actually get to go because their friend groups kinda forget them or they don't have the same opportunities."

Okay, now things got sad.

Bella didn't  _want_  to go and see Quidditch in person - she never even went to the games held at school - but she didn't know if Hermione was just plainly interested all for the sake of knowing what it was like. And it wouldn't be fair for Hermione to miss out on something she might actually be interested in.

Could be a learning experience. Sirius was always willing to help her out when she had questions.

* * *

The Welsh National Quidditch Team had played a very good season thus far. After defeating the Germans at 860/300, they had gone on to play Brazil and came out the victors with 820/790, and finally went against the USA and won once again, at 700/420. This left them to go against Bulgaria who had played even better all season.

Bulgaria's matches had proven why they were so talented. The First Round was against New Zealand whom they crushed 710/170. The Second Round was against Norway which they practically obliterated at 270/20 because Krum caught the Snitch about ten minutes in. The Third Round was up against Japan which had put up more of a fight and actually required both teams to pull in some Reserves because things got intense. That match ended 770/750 in favour of Bulgaria but only by the skin of their teeth and a last minute goal.

This left Wales and Bulgaria to battle it out and because Wales earned more points overall, the Final would be held in British territory. Now it was time for Prunella to be introduced to the team she would be working with for the next several decades if she managed to have her way.

Jackie Jernigan was the First Chaser and also the Team Captain. Prue had been following her career and it was widely known that Jackie had a dangerous arm and could make a score from over fifty yards away from the center goalpost. She was an imposing woman of over 200 cm and had black hair shaved off at the sides of her head but really long and curly up top. There was a piece of thin silver twisted around the cartilage of her left ear and her eyeliner was sharp and double-winged. She was awesome!

The Team's Manager, Gwenog Jones, had met with Prue, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley first. She was a former Beater and Captain of the Holyhead Harpies and was also physically imposing. She looked a lot like Bella's muggle guardian actually, but was less nice. She also spoke gruffly and could tear someone down like Snape could but with less finesse while doing it. Not that she seemed to care about finesse.

It was Gwenog who brought Prue in to meet the rest of the team.

The Second Chaser was Arnold McCarty who was the second youngest next to Prue, at twenty-seven. He also was a ginger with green eyes and a very slight frame. He wasn't much taller than her either and his face was so freckled he looked tanned. Like Charlie Weasley but without the bulging muscles from working with dragons for so many years.

The Third Chaser was Marnie Anderson. She'd been on the team the longest and was already in her sixties but showed no sign of slowing down any time soon. She had a kind smile and was very lanky which no doubt helped her control her broom more easily.

The Beaters were Darren Floyd and Iefan Rice. Both were as Beaters would be. Big, burly, and powerful. All were necessary if they wanted to knock the Bludgers around properly. Both had enough strength to snap a goalpost in half if one of their Bludgers managed to hit one. Iefan was known for going for the head and Darren was very good at targeting. They paired up very well and were a dangerous combo on the pitch.

Yuri McLaughlin was the was Team's Keeper. She was as small as Prue was and was known to be very sweet. No matter what happened she was known for a pleasant attitude and good sportsmanship. She was also fierce on the pitch and had a talent for upside down interceptions. She liked to spend the majority of her time on a broom, upside down.

Finally was Team Seeker Eurig Cadwallader who was a pro at the Wronski Feint. He was tall, blond, and had a nasally voice. But he was also a quiet person and only really came alive during a game where his green eyes would just sparkle with excitement. He was the ' _pretty boy_ ' of the team and had the most merch dedicated to his face alone. His fans were numerous and intense. Like Lockhart's fans were without being huge gits.

And these were Prue's new teammates.

"These are the Primary players," Gwenog stated with a wide sweep of the arm over the group on the left side of the long, wooden table. She then gestured to the two people on the right side of it. "They are the Reserves."

"Mandy Morrison," said the brunette.

"Mindy Morrison," said the blonde.

Prue knew of them but not much. Fraternal twins who did end up playing often but never actually finishing a match because the Medi-Wizards on site usually fixed up the downed players in time. Still, the sisters were good at what they did as both were Reserve Chasers and Keepers.

Gwenog motioned to Prue. "This is your newest member, who is a Versatile Reserve. We're going to run you all through some last minute training so you'll hopefully get used to her by next week in case she needs to be called in. With how Bulgaria's been playing this season, those bastards will probably get some of our team down for a while. And Darren hasn't been feeling well recently." She then sent Prue a look and gestured for her to introduce herself.

"I'm Prunella Potter," she said despite knowing they all probably knew who she was. "I'm fourteen, I've only been trained in Quidditch my entire life, and I really like Treacle Tart and bread."

There was a split second where no one said anything and they all just stared at one another, and then chaos erupted as the older members of the team practically leapt over the table in order to bombard her with questions. She looked to Gwenog who shrugged and stood back to let the inquisition continue.

A team-building exercise perhaps, so they could all get to know one another better.

"I saw you do that Wronski Feint last year, how did you learn that so soon?"

"Aren't you scared of joining an International Team so young?"

"Do you think you'll be able to handle INT speeds?"

It was a very taxing meeting to say the least but she kind of liked it. At least her new teammates were nice people.

* * *

"I'm ever so excited for this!" Hermione said, gesticulating madly toward the portkey that Sirius had gotten for them to use. It was a manky old sock that looked as if it barely survived WW2. But it represented so much more than that in Hermione's mind!

The Quidditch World Cup was an international event and no less than one hundred thousand magical people gathered at the Final, from all over the world. This was Hermione's chance to see how the Ministry officially handled such events and how International Magical Cooperation was really going. The Ministry liked to tell the citizens that everything was fine and that Britain got on well with the other countries of the world, but was everything truly as happy and perfect as it was made out to be? This would be her chance to find out!

There hadn't been much of an opinion on Britain in the foreign magical communities she'd visited on holiday. She needed the hard facts in person!

She clasped Bella's hand and grinned. "Thank you!" It was an early birthday gift according to Bella, who certainly didn't look as enthused as Hermione. Basically she wanted Hermione to get the experience and was coming along because every other friend she had was going and there was nothing else for her to do in the middle of August. It was kind of boring in 2014 to be perfectly honest.

But it was a fantastic day for Hermione! It was a rare chance because things like this only came along every four years and she was certain she wouldn't be able to travel to other countries so taking advantage while it was there in Britain was the most important thing!

"Too bad Aaliyah and Deborah can't come along."

Bella shook her head. "Neither wanted to, I made sure to ask. They're taking this time as a date night. You know, coupley things and stuff."

That was good for them. They  _were_  still newlyweds even if they'd already done the honeymoon business back to the Bahamas where Aaliyah's parents had originally been from.

"Ten seconds to go. Grab the ugly sock and hold tight because this crap is effed up."

They were whisked away seconds later and Hermione couldn't stop herself from grinning as they arrived in a wooded area. And it should be noted that they stayed upright the entire time! Progress!

"Ten past four from Central London," said an unfamiliar voice.

The girls whirled around to find a man clad in an oversized tweed coat over what looked to be rubber dungarees, holding a clipboard up to his bespectacled gaze so he could make a mark on the parchment he was reading. "Portkey, please?" he asked, holding his hand out expectantly.

They handed it over, eying him and his partner with mild concern as the sock was dumped into a cardboard box fulls of what looked like rubbish. Muddy newspapers, an empty fizzy drink can, an old wig, and a positive pregnancy test that Hermione could very well have vomited over if she and Bella had been forced to use one as a means of transportation.

They were supposed to be blending in so the muggles couldn't find them, but they were honestly very terrible at it. Questionable choice of portkeys aside, the partner was wearing a kilt and a poncho of different colours and patterns so he just looked a right mess. It would honestly gain more attention on a common street than wearing wizarding robes would. Especially with the patterns on the poncho and the fact that most people in Britain did not wear ponchos because they weren't a part of their culture.

"What group are you a part of so we can determine your campsite?" the kilted man asked, looking down at his own clipboard still.

"Black," was Bella's answer.

Their heads snapped up to look Bella over, and both nodded. "Black's about quarter of a mile in  _that_  direction," the second man said, pointing to their left. "First field and the site manager is Mr. Roberts. You have your tickets?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused.

"Then get moving, we have a massive party coming in five minutes and you don't want them landing on you. St. Mungo's won't appreciate having to heal injuries that could have been avoided altogether, that's for certain."

The girls stepped out of the large circle they'd appeared in, and Bella held up a hand to stop Hermione from going any further. "I planned ahead for this." She proceeded to rummage through her magically extended handbag from Professor Lupin and pulled out two scooters that she proceeded to unfold. "I don't  _want_  to walk right now and I had a feeling it would be happening anyway."

And so they scootered down the pathway made through the grass until they came upon a very small cottage in front of a very large campground full of tents. And the man sitting at the window actually  _looked_  like a muggle.

"Hello, ladies. You on with the camping too?" the old man asked as they made it to the window.

"Are you Mr. Roberts?"

"Sure am," he nodded. "You look less weird than the others who've come by here. Do you at least know how to count your pounds?" He  _was_  a muggle! "People have been trying to pay we with all manner of unacceptable, foreign coins today and I am exhausted by it."

"We're actually with Group Black," Bella said, handing over what looked to be a pamphlet about the match that she'd said Sirius had given her that morning. Mr. Roberts took it and his expression became a little misty-eyed.

"Ah, yes. They've already arrived some time ago and paid ahead of time." His eyes cleared up suddenly as he handed the pamphlet back. "Honestly, you're the most normal-looking people I've seen today. Get a look at those tents out back and the hats some people are wearing, and try to tell me I'm not going mad!" he said as he handed over what appeared to be a map of the campgrounds. "It's like a bunch of Merlins popped in for a good kip under the stars but got all turned around amidst the twenty-first century!"

Both girls shared a look of concern as they leaned around the house a bit to see what he was talking about. Hermione wanted to facepalm. There was a chimney on a nearby tent and pointed hats everywhere. She had  _so. many. things. to. complain. about._  and she hadn't even gotten to the match yet! So much had to be fixed! The muggle literally called it as it was without hesitation! That was dangerous!

Just then, a wizard in blue robes appeared and cast an  **Obliviate**  on the old muggle. The look on his exhausted face was one of frustration as he motioned for them to start making their way to the grounds.

"I've been Obliviating him all bloody day," the wizard murmured to them as they moved along. "He's a lot more bright than the muggles I've dealt with before and he keeps coming to the same conclusion. I don't know how but it's killing me! Enjoy your time at the match, ladies." That made Hermione concerned for the muggle's mental health.

And then they were left to find the Black tent on their own, which ended up being near the Weasley tent. Right next to it in fact. The tent was literally black too, and looked to be the most muggle one around ironically considering the family Sirius Black hailed from. It was plain and unassuming unlike the one several meters behind them that had a trimmed lawn, a marble birdbath, and albino peacocks everywhere.

Inside was a different matter altogether though because it  _was_  a magical tent and was crafted for a specific purpose.

The Weasley brood had apparently decided to visit and honestly, there was enough room for all of them because it was even bigger than Hermione's home in just what looked to be the main floor of the expanded tent! There was another floor judging by the spiral staircase on the far right, even though the ceiling was huge and had a bloody chandelier!

Fred and George Weasley noticed them immediately and announced their entrance with fake, posh accents as they pretended to hold monocles up to their eyes to inspect them.

"Bella!" Sirius boomed. "We were worried when you said you wanted to come here on your own. Was everything alright along the way?"

The girls shared a look and nodded reluctantly. The journey was fine if not ridiculous.

"Other than the rather poor attempts at blending in," Hermione began, "it's been pretty interesting thus far."

* * *

"He looks familiar," Bella noted, staring hard at a tall young man with dark blond hair who was perusing a stall some yards away. He looked like the kind of person who'd have rabid fangirls but wouldn't necessarily approve of their actions and catty attitudes.

Hermione huffed, looking like she was being tortured. "That's Cedric Diggory, Bella. He's Hufflepuff's Seeker and Quidditch Captain. He's literally greeted you in the corridors multiple times."

She did not remember that happening. Ever. Bella was not aware of interacting with any Hufflepuffs if they weren't Neville or Luna.

"He's hot," she admitted, disappointed that she didn't remember his face. That jaw looked like it could cut diamonds. Damn!

The frank outburst had poor Hermione sputtering. " _Bella_!"

" _What_?" she countered defensively. "I discovered my sexual interests some time this summer and am not afraid to point out the obvious!" This Cedric dude was hot as hell. "I'm almost fifteen and you are  _already_  fifteen, Mione. Are you honestly going to tell me that you haven't even considered sex as a thing that exists?"

"Shhhh!" the older brunette demanded, looking around. "I don't want to talk about that kind of thing in public. Or in private for that matter, Bella."

But they were surrounded by hot people! Why not appreciate?

Of course that was the moment a very tall, redheaded woman sauntered by them, wearing a very skin-tight black dress that did in no way belong at a Quidditch match. Bella's entire body turned around just to follow her path until the crowd swallowed her up, and she sighed. "That shade of red hair looks really good against that shade of black."

"Are you going to do this all evening?" Hermione asked in exasperation and a little something extra she couldn't place.

"I just might! Hey look! Blaise and Theo!" she said, pointing their friends out as they were coming toward them, their arms filled with bags of what looked to be sweets and march. "Blaise has some nice cheekbones and Theo's eyes are a lot nicer shade of green than I remember them being."

Hermione's long-suffering sigh was enough to make Bella cackle. It was always fun to annoy her good friend.

* * *

"Hey look, there's Malfoy. And I think those are his parents."

"They are," Blaise confirmed. "Are you about to go on a rant about how attractive he's suddenly become too?" Blaise only asked that because he and everyone else had also been subjected to Bella's blunt observations once they'd all joined up hours ago. And she hadn't stopped since.

Bella's eyes narrowed upon the blond and she shook her head. "Nah! He doesn't do it for me. His mom's kinda doin' it for me though. Which is weird now that I think about something Sirius told me about arranged marriages a couple weeks ago."

The look that Blaise and Theo shared was one of open disgust. Then again, they'd grown up with Draco. They'd gone over his manor on many occasions and had met his mother many times. Narcissa was kind of terrifying in her own special way, and thinking of her like that at all was just awkward for either of them.

"Kids, the top box isn't going to fill itself," said Sirius Black from behind the group. "And Bella, please stop ogling my cousin, I don't think I have the patience to deal with that revelation right now."

She didn't even seem embarrassed by being called out. Bella merely shrugged and ascended the stairs leading to the top box. As they all had VIP tickets, they got to sit in the most optimal place to view the match. And that meant being with Britain and Bulgaria's Ministers, a few other politicians, and some people who could throw around enough money to get into the top box. Like the Malfoys who were seated all the way at the front and didn't notice them come in.

Arthur Weasley and his family were only there because he'd supposedly done Ludo Bagman a favour and Ludo wanted to repay him. So he decided to take his children to see a live World Cup Final.

The box was a bit nicer than the rest of the seating arrangements they'd seen in passing while ascending the stairwell. And there were refreshments that re-filled themselves when emptied, on a long table nearby.

The stands were full of clapping and chanting. There was not one solid section dedicated to a specific colour. It was all reds and greens for the teams playing. Blaise was sporting all red because he liked Krum. Theo, Bella, Neville, Luna, and Hermione weren't wearing any supporting colours because they didn't care who won. Ronald and Ginevra Weasley were both wearing red and green merchandise because they liked Bulgaria but supported Prunella Potter no matter what, and the twin menaces were all in for Wales of course.

Bets were being placed still. They even got to watch Fred and George sucker Bagman into one with a ridiculous claim of Krum catching the Snitch but both teams tying. It seemed so impossible and Bagman had agreed to their little ten Galleon wager with a laugh.

By the look on Luna's face though, he wasn't certain the idea was  _that_  preposterous.

The game came closer to starting as the mascots for the teams filed onto the field below them. The Bulgarians had Veela, which had a lot of the people in the stands entranced. Including Theo and Bella. And Luna before she caught herself and looked away.

Blaise had seen better. Hermione was shaking her head and writing in her notebook of complaints. A book that going to shape the future of Magical Britain most certainly.

"Hey! There's Prue up there!" Bella shouted, pointing up in the sky where the seven members of the Welsh National Team burst onto the pitch. And sure enough, Prunella Potter's read hair could be seen among the group, and she was actually in a Beater position instead of hanging back as a Reserve? Reserves were not announced with the starting players. Ever.

"Something must have happened to one of their Beaters," Blaise murmured. "Odd." That rarely happened in international level games. Usually everyone was in perfect health before the match.

Luna hummed. "How  _lucky_  for Prue." She was smiling though and Blaise was mildly concerned, but didn't bother asking. He didn't really want to know if truth be told.

The Bulgarians and the Welsh sized each other up. Krum looked enormous compared to Cadwallader who was more slight even if he was as equally tall. Krum was not the optimal size for being a Seeker and yet he was viewed as the best one in the world at present. Talk about perseverance and breaking down stereotypes.

Fudge's annoying voice rang out through the stadium to start the match, and a hush fell over the crowd as the Quaffle was officially released. Those three seconds it was in the air were like a collectively held breath. And then Bulgaria got their hands on it and the players took off!

It was madness and yet order as no one managed to hit each other in the confusion. True professionals at play.

* * *

"Prue is so tiny, how did she manage to knock out so many Bulgarian players? The Bulgarians are huge!" Bella exclaimed, looking as confused as they all felt.

They were on their way back to their tents, all trying to understand how someone as small and dainty-looking as Prunella Potter, managed to swing her Beater's Bat at a Bludger hard enough to knock out grown man when it connected to his head. There were people celebrating and performing all sorts of magic as they passed. Fireworks were going off in every direction. Just a bunch of fun.

"Maybe she's just a lot stronger than her appearance leads people to believe," Neville suggested. "It's possible for people to be stronger than they look and I have been learning to not assume from appearances alone as of late."

"You coming back to our tent or are you going back home immediately?" Bella asked him as they grew nearer to the campgrounds in question.

"Gran said I absolutely had to come back immediately. She charmed a portkey for midnight."

That sucked. "But you can hang out with us until then, right?" That was like half an hour away.

Any further talking was halted because quite suddenly, tents were on fire. And not in some kind of celebration because somehow there was a tie in the game for the first time in decades. No, this was literal damage-causing fire that had people running and screaming instead of trying to put it out despite the fact that they were adults with wands that could summon water and put it out!

A massive fireball soared overhead and slammed into one of the tents with the multitude of chimneys. More screaming sounded and people started running more frantically, pushing past the group of teens in an attempt to get to safety. The burning tents gave off smoke that rose to cover the night sky, blocking the moon and changing the campgrounds into something eerie that Bella had only ever seen in video games.

And that was when they saw them. Not exactly close to their position, but still close enough to see the details of their masks.

Death Eaters.

Couldn't Voldy and his Death Munchers just go away for good?

"Kids, I want you to head for the tent!" Sirius yelled over the panicked screams of the people. "It's protected to the teeth and will be the safest place for you! No one but me, Remus, or Bella can allow people entry and it will repel any attacks with intent to do harm!  ** _GO_**!"

Without even getting a chance to ask him if he'd be okay, Bella's hands were yanked by Theo and Blaise. Neville had Blaise's hand and Hermione's hand, and Luna had Hermione other hand, keeping them all linked so they couldn't be separated amidst the terrified masses.

"Duck!" someone yelled. She couldn't tell who since she was too busy being yanked to the dirt, her mouth closing around a few blades of grass in the process.

Theo tugged her back up to her feet and she lost her grip on Blaise's hand who merely waved her to hurry onward. "Go!"

" **Stupefy**!" Hermione's voice called out, and the spell in question sailed right over Bella's right shoulder and hit the nearest Death Eater directly in the mask, knocking him over before he could finish casting something foreign at them.

Hermione had just performed underage magic. Hermione had brought her fucking wand to the Quidditch World Cup Final.

WTF?

Theo stopped running suddenly, and she slammed into him unexpectedly, taking them both to the ground once more and narrowly missing several green lights flying over their heads. God only knew what those could do.

A nearby tent exploded far too close for her liking, and debris scattered everywhere, covering them both. Her ears were ringing in that dull, annoying way that wouldn't end for several minutes if things didn't lighten up soon.

She'd never been in a life or death situation before.

Well... never one she'd been aware of at least.

Her heartbeat was all she could hear in her ears and she could feel it pounding in her fingertips. Theo practically crawled on top of her and refused to move at all. It wasn't lost on her that he was basically shielding her with his body and that should something even worse happen, he'd take the hit and hide her at the same time.

None of them had brought their wands except Hermione. They were fucked because of lack of foresight.

" **Morsmordre**!"

She looked up at the sound of the familiar voice, and saw a man in raggedy robes and a trench-coat, pointing a bone-white wand at the sky. And the spell he'd cast summoned a massive, green skull that had a snake slithering out of the mouth.

The Barty dude was at the QWCF.

She could hear Theo's breath hitch at the sight of the skull/snake thing. It was obviously Voldemort-related considering the person that cast it was literally one of his DEs who was helping him regain his former power.

If she even made it out of this, she'd never leave her wand home ever again.

* * *

 **Yo! So a bunch of Death Eaters raided the WC Final tonight and I think this was the most**  
**dangerous situation I have ever been in! I nearly got hit by very bright, green lights, and**  
**something almost lobbed my head off. I got buried under rubble and a friend who was so**  
**willing to be a meat-shield if I needed one. This must be what school shootings are like. I**  
**don't think I've finished processing it tbh.**

_WHAT? ARE YOU OKAY?_

Someone had dared to try and kill Bella?  _His_  Bella?

Voldemort was becoming more than a simple nuisance now. He needed to be killed as soon as possible because Tom would not stand by and allow that has-been to do something to his only friend!

If he ever found out exactly who had cast such curses in Bella's direction, he'd eviscerate them slowly and painfully, and then force their intestines down the throats of their family members just for the hell of it.

Tom was long past the Good VS Evil nonsense. He preferred to think of it as Moral Judgment.

 **Yeah. We all technically are but there were a few close calls here and there. You know it**  
**felt like it took forever in the moment but looking at it now, it was only a few minutes of**  
**time from Point A to Point B and then I was home. So much can happen in so little time,**  
**I think we take things for granted too often.**

Bella was even spouting philosophical nonsense in the light of this experience.

Tom wanted to murder.

_Did they manage to capture any of the Death Eaters responsible?_

**Meaning** : Were there any names of note so that he could read the paper in the morning and know exactly who he needed to torture into insanity?

Tom would do it without hesitation. He already had ideas.

 **No, but I'm not daft. Lucius Malfoy was at the match tonight with his family, as well as the**  
**Avery, Macnair, and Flint Lords. They are all Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban by claiming**  
**they were Imperiused. They have also been padding Fudge's pockets over the years to keep**  
**him in office and to keep him malleable. With the recent upset over Azkaban, they've pulled**  
**all their backing off him because he's lost public appeal and there's no saving his reputation**  
**now. He won't be Minister for much longer.**

_Did you have any strange dreams recently that would explain why this is happening?_

**No. I don't think this was a Voldemort-sanctioned raid. They weren't very organised tbh and**  
**there were less than twenty of them. In reports from old recountings in the paper and recent**  
**history books, they usually attacked in groups of fifty at the very least. This seemed more like**  
**a scare-tactic where they scrounged up the remaining loyals they could find.**

_Indeed._

He was so angry he couldn't even control his hand long enough to write out more words.

Breathing was a little harder at the moment.

 **I did see a familiar face though. That Barty dude from my dream. But he wasn't with the Death**  
**Eaters. No robes or freaky mask on him. And he looked just as rough as he did in the dream.**

_The chances of the papers trying to pass this off as a joke are very high._

**Rita Skeeter won't! With a proper direction of funds she'll gladly drag this out for months just**  
**to keep people alert and concerned.**

Ah, yes! Bella's Slytherin actions were still bearing fruit.

Having an in with the magical press was a big deal and Bella knew how to manipulate that to her advantage. At least the Skeeter woman seemed to have some kind of moral decency of her own and agreed with Bella's concerns and worries.

Having the same goals made it even easier to see their plans through.

_Yes, you are quite the devious one, aren't you, dear Bella?_

**Yep! I like knowing that a little bit of gold could ruin someone's life. So long as they're a shitty**  
**person of course. I'm not mean or anything.**

_Some would debate otherwise._

**Those some can sod the fuck off.**

_So to be perfectly clear, there is nothing wrong with you at all and you are in peak physical condition?_

**I'm perfectly fine, no need to worry about me. I think we need to worry about what Voldy's**  
**up to and what the Brotherhood of Death Munchers thinks they're gonna do after this. Cuz**  
**this was on their own and they almost got caught because of Mione. She hit one in the face**  
**with a Stunner and a bunch of them had to collect the body before the Aurors finally caught**  
**up to them.**

_Impressive. Will she be punished for underage magic?_

**I hope not! It was a legit life or death situation! I nearly lost my head! A tent the size of a**  
**house exploded next to me and the debris hit us all! Life-threatening injuries could've been**  
**sustained! I will hire a bloody lawyer if I have to keep her record clean! The Ministry can't**  
**afford more drama right now.**

Then it was down to the Aurors to do the right thing.

Tom wasn't holding onto any hope of that happening any time soon.

**You're not planning to like, take over the DEs, right?**

_No._

**Good.**

_I plan to see them all dead or imprisoned for life._

**Much better! But you'll be making your own minions group again?**

_Perhaps. If things go as they are supposed to, then yes. But with better ideals._

**Good luck.**

It was always nice to have the support of a friend.

* * *

Bella's first official competition as a Junior Skater was here! The ISU's(International Skating Union) Junior Grand Prix was kicking off and Bella was competing! The series would span from 20 August to 14 December in the last quarter or so of 2014.

As every skater, Bella was given her assignments to determine if she would make it to the Final. Her first assignment was the Courchevel which was taking place in France, and her second would be the Tallinn Cup which took place in Estonia. This meant she'd be on a plane for the first time ever and would actually need her passport for the first time!

Qualifying for the Final had a lot to do with maths.

At the end of each competition, the final placement of the skater in question earned them points. From 1st place to 10th place. First was awarded 15 points, second was awarded 13 points, and 3rd was awarded 11 points. Essentially, in order to guarantee oneself a spot in the Final, a skater had to medal at both Qualifying Events to go on to the very end and compete against the top skaters in the world in their Division.

There  _were_  things like Tie-Breakers though.

 

 

> **1.)**  Highest placement at an event. If a skater placed 1st and 3rd, the tiebreaker is  
>  the 1st place, and that beats a skater who placed 2nd in both events.
> 
> **2.)**  Highest combined total scores in both events. If a skater earned 200 points at  
>  one event and 250 at a second, that skater would win in the second tie-break over  
>  a skater who earned 200 points at one event and 150 at another.
> 
> **3.)**  Participated in two events.
> 
> **4.)**  Highest combined scores in the free skating/free dance portion of both events.
> 
> **5.)**  Highest individual score in the free skating/free dance portion from one event.
> 
> **6.)**  Highest combined scores in the short program/short dance of both events.
> 
> **7.)**  Highest number of total participants at the events. *****

And of course if there was a tie deemed unbreakable than both competitors would be allowed to proceed to the Final.

Bella already knew what she had to do, and that was get at least Bronze in both of her assignments. She'd studied up on her direct competition to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

So far, Bella could land solid Triples across the board compared to other girls who could land some but not all and not as consistently. Her fans were even asking for her to start working on Quads. Aaliyah had already vetoed that particular decision because she wanted Bella to once again focus on artistry and footwork now that her Jumps were in a good place. Next season she could set about working on her Quads. It was a promise.

On the side she'd already started training for the Quad Toe-Loop but that was a secret for now.

A secret she was certain Aaliyah knew about.

Anyway! The JGP series!

Bella was currently seated in a ski-resort in the French Alps, with the full knowledge that she would be there for at least five days from the 20-24 of August. She also had her camera at the ready any second in order to record anything she thought was awesome. It was all for the YouTube channel of course.

Everything looked like something you'd find on a Christmas Card! It wasn't even Autumn yet but it felt like mid-Winter already. And everything was simply beautiful. Enough to rival Hogwarts when it was covered in snow actually.

The snow was like a sparkling blanket of white that remained untouched in some places, and touched a bit too much in others. She was caught between the urge to protect the still perfect sections, and the urge to trample all over them and ruin the neatness therein. That would mean having to stomp all the way out there to do it though so obviously those urges would be ignored.

To think that Bella's chosen profession was going to allow her to see all these amazing places all over the world and she even had the ability to pay her way without having to worry about anything. And when she finally proved herself on an international level, there would be sponsors lining up to work with her, which was one of the best parts of the whole thing! Sponsors meant more media attention and while she got that some media could be detrimental to one's career, sometimes you have to take the good and the bad at the same time.

Having her face on the telly would be worth it in the end.

"Want to go explore, kiddo?" Aaliyah asked as she set her bag on her chosen bed. "It can get dark pretty quickly around here."

Bella nodded and flicked the safety lock on her trunk so muggles couldn't get into it, and if by some act of God they did, they wouldn't find anything amazing anyway. Probably one of the best gifts she'd ever get because having a mini home on her person was the best! They could get the worst possible room at any competition and still have somewhere nice to sleep at night. It saved money!

Thank God for Remus and Sirius thinking ahead even when they didn't understand her profession in the beginning!

"You been here before?" the teen asked as she slipped her snow boots on once again and reached for her scarf. Her wand was placed in the inner pocket of her coat just in case. She doubted she'd need it but after the whole World Cup Final thing and not bringing it with her because she thought she wouldn't need, it, Bella was more inclined to keep it on her person it now. She'd learned a lesson in vigilance that night.

Aaliyah was nodding to her question. "Many times just to watch and gain knowledge. I know where we can get some good tea."

Ah, yes! Tea. Practically the life-blood of every true Brit.

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself and your appetite."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, I'll be eating salad for the next few days just to avoid any possible stomach issues that would come with fried foods and meats." She always did that though. Once the need for her to skate was over, she'd gorge herself on whatever sweets the resort had to offer.

* * *

Shopping! Some days it was great and other days it was a hassle. Today it was the latter. Prue did not want to be out shopping at all but this time required something a little more than all the other times. And it was in reference to a little note each student was given along with their supply lists that year.

 _**Fourth years and up are expected to remain at the school for the duration** _  
_**of the winter holiday and must have formal attire prepared ahead of time.** _  
_**No excuses permitted. Exceptions must be talked over with your Head of** _  
_**House.** _

_**Happy Summer.** _

"The hell do we need ' _formal attire_ ' for?" Prue asked aloud, hoping someone would be kind enough to give her an answer.

Bella, who was standing right beside her on a stool of her own as they got measured in Twilfitt and Tattings, said, "We're having a Yule Ball."

Prue's head whipped around, her gaze inquisitive and confused. "And how do  _you_  know that?"

"Something special is happening at Hogwarts this year and that friend of mine who helped us out a while back, told me about it. I looked into it and a ball is always hosted on Christmas Eve as a result."

Prue groaned. "I don't like balls or dresses."

"Then don't wear one," Bella said simply.

"We- we don't  _have_  to wear dresses?" Since when?

Bella shook her head. "The parchment said  _'formal attire_ ' and the dress code for Hogwarts doesn't forbid girls from wearing trousers or boys from wearing skirts, therefore, dresses are not absolutely necessary for anything. You merely have to be wearing formal attire for it.  _I'm_  wearing something similar to what I wore for Aaliyah and Deborah's wedding."

Prue hated dresses. Knowing she wouldn't have to wear one suddenly made the whole thing much better. And it wasn't like she'd have to stay too long during the ball. She could just sneak out in the middle of it. One thousand students were a bit difficult to keep track of at a time after all. Their professors weren't the best at it on a good day and a ball would make everything worse!

"Madam Pimpernelle, I'd like a dark red version of those dress robes in the left window," she said, gesturing behind her at the shop windows which were showing off the newest trends in fashion that the Pureblood aristocracy were raving about.

"The men's design?" the old woman asked, peering over Prue's shoulder.

"Please?"

"Will do."

That went a lot easier than she thought it would be.

"And can  _I_  get a black version of what I got last month, but with an additional piece that can be clipped onto the waist at the back?" Bella asked. "I don't want to wear a dress but I'd like to have a train of some sort and what I have in mind would be awesome if I could sketch it out for you."

* * *

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

 

> [* Directly from Wikipedia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix)

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ^-^ EARLY CHAPTER!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -BTW, my time zone is EST. My schedule as been to update between 7-11  
> AM every Friday and I have managed that since Ch. 1. This is a Christmas  
> gift. Ch. 37 is ready for Friday, Dec 28th 2018, like usual.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

 

**IS _the_ MINISTRY INCOMPETENT?**

Dear readers, we have a problem on our hands, and it comes in the form of  
our government. This past weekend, the Quidditch World Cup Final was put  
under attack by those we all never expected to see again. A group of Death  
Eaters swarmed the tents in the campgrounds, setting people's possessions  
aflame and blowing up anything they laid eyes on.

Caught far too close to the havoc, were a group of Hogwarts students who  
had been on their way back to their tent for the night. Among the group was  
Belladonna Potter, Heiress to the Black, Gaunt, and Blishwick lines, as well  
as twin sister to the Girl Who Lived. A word with the young lady has shed a  
light on what happened.

The Ministry insisted that things hadn't been as bad as they seemed, but Ms.  
Potter's account of the event seems to tell another story entirely.

 **"The smoke was covering the sky and burning fabric floated in the air. Around**  
**twenty men in bone-white masks and black robes stormed the campground,**  
**flicking green curses every which way and blowing everything up. We were**  
**almost caught up in an explosion and almost hit with many unknown curses.**  
**My friend Hermione managed to Stupefy one of them and while they rushed**  
**their fallen comrade in order to escape, another stepped out from the nearby**  
**woods and pointed a wand at the sky, saying 'morsmordre'. He Disapparated**  
**a moment later, followed quickly by the rest. The Aurors arrived at midnight,**  
**ten minutes later, and were far too late to do anything. It was disappointing**  
**considering they're supposed to be ready to protect the people in any event."**

This experience contradicts many points Minister Fudge told we at the Prophet  
to release after the tragedy. Ms. Potter has a golden reputation in school and  
is known for being as bluntly honest as possible. I'm more inclined to believe  
her over Minister Fudge, who's been exposed many times over for accepting  
bribes, ignoring his duties, and falsifying government information.

This begs the question however. Is our Ministry incompetent? Can we all truly  
trust anyone in a position of authority right now? All that work to prepare for  
the QWCF and there were no Aurors on site? Common citizens had to defend  
themselves as well as others in the process? Children nearly died and yet our  
Minister wants to ignore these alarming facts?

With a heavy heart at the thought of our declining society,

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily prophet._

* * *

"It is beneficial for you that your grandfather passed on before he could finish his plans," Blaise's mum said at the table that morning while she looked over the paper. "You might have been forced in on that drama at the World Cup Final if he was still around, and that could have gotten you caught and ruined your life entirely. No Death Eater is going to make certain a child among their ranks stays safe and within the group. You would have been caught no doubt."

Theo and Blaise looked at one another. Both were obviously in agreement of course, but the framing of the words left them a bit amused. They now knew that Xenophon hadn't just dropped dead all on his own. But it was definitely good that he was gone. Theo wouldn't have been happy being forced to attack innocent people all because the Death Eaters wanted to show off in the name of some madman.

To think the people who had nearly gotten him killed recently, were the ones he had been expected to join up with when he was finally all grown up? Just further proof that Xenophon had been mad in his middle-age. His obsession with the Dark Lord had gone too far.

"Any reason for those covert looks you both are sharing?"

They snapped to attention to find the woman looking intently at them over the rims of her enchanted reading glasses. She didn't actually need glasses at all, but they afforded extra protections and had certain spells on them that allowed her to see behind her so she was never truly vulnerable while reading.

"No."

"Yes."

Theo was the one that had said 'yes' and now both Blaise and his mum were looking to him. Blaise seemed more concerned over the topic but considering his mum's history, would she really care?

"Our friend Bella got a friend of hers to handle Xenophon. She said he needed someone for a ritual and because she decided that she hated Xenophon, he would do. In exchange for helping me out before doing the deed of course. We don't know the full details but she isn't remorseful in the least and even wanted to do something similar to Dowager Longbottom to help Neville out as well."

She did not handle it the way Blaise seemed to think she would. She looked darkly amused. "A Potter put a hit on someone and allowed another to use that person in a Dark Ritual?"

"Bella's not like the Potters of the last century have been," Blaise confessed easily. "She or her twin actually. They're more Grey aligned than anything else, but Bella does have Dark leanings now and then. She also wasn't raised by them so she sees her actions from a completely different standpoint than her blood parents might."

A smirk that made both boys shiver a bit. "I like her even more now."

That was a relief! Neither really talked about school and the things that went on because it didn't feel necessary. It was Hogwarts and interesting things rarely happened. She wasn't nosy and she trusted them to take care of themselves and to know when they needed help. It was all good between them.

"I should like to meet Ms. Potter in person," the woman continued. "Perhaps give her a few tips on how to not leave a trail behind when participating in illegal plots."

Did Bella perhaps, just earn herself another friend? Probably.

Was Theo a little terrified over what that could possibly mean for the magical world as a whole? Yes, indeed.

Was he going to do anything about it though? No, he wouldn't.

Maybe it would be good for Bella to have another magical person on her side. And earning the favour of Lady Zabini was like a boon from the highest order.

* * *

"I hate PC games," Bella grumbled as she pointed and clicked multiple times but always ended up being far too slow for her own liking. She couldn't get the damn mouse to go all over the screen quick enough to get crap done!

Amara snorted and turned a page in her book about the decline of the worth of gold and silver.

"This crap never works for me!" she said, clicking furiously around the screen but to no avail. She died.

"Or maybe you're just bad at it," Amara suggested.

"I'm great at console games so idk what's going on." The Last of Us practically quivered beneath her superior directional abilities!

"It could be that you're just meant to play console games then. Not everyone is good at games on every platform."

But she liked FNaf! And it wasn't available on a console system yet! How else was she supposed to get the story? Watch YouTube Let's Plays?

Actually... not a bad idea. She could get the content she wanted while not having to struggle with the game herself. Bless the persons who made Let's Plays a popular thing!

* * *

"Bella, this is my mum, Moriah Zabini," Blaise said that morning in front of the train. His mother had indeed come along with the sole purpose of meeting his friend and her guardians. When Bella stepped through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ and Sirius Black joined her with two familiar women on his arm, Blaise knew it was finally happening.

Bella had noticed them of course. Aside from her guardian, they were the darkest people on the platform. It would be hard to miss either of them really.

When he'd introduced them, Bella gave a very long whistle of appreciation that he really wished he couldn't hear because it was for his mum and while she was indeed one of the most beautiful women in the world, he didn't want to think of anyone flirting with her!

"Hi, I'm Belladonna Potter-Michaels and you're gorgeous, oh my God," his friend said, taking his mother's hand a giving it a firm shake. Her green eyes were practically sparkling with interest if that was possible.

"Kiddo, are you going to make this a habit?" Aaliyah Michaels asked, proving that Bella had indeed been on this weird kick of telling people she found attractive, that she found them attractive.

His mother merely laughed daintily. "Thank you, Ms. Potter."

"This is my guardian Aaliyah and her wife Deborah. And I'm sure you know of Sirius."

The entire exchange between their guardians was one massive flirtation where both of Bella's guardians were very boldly making eyes at his mum and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. And when she responded in kind, it started feeling a little awkward.

Still, of course they could count on Bella to break the ice in the way only Bella could. "Alright, so I can see where this is  _possibly_  going and I'm glad I won't be here for it. So just play nice, be safe, and don't give me any details ever. Love you both," she said, pulling her guardians into a quick hug and then tugging both Blaise and Theo, who had been silently watching, onto the train.

"Did that mean what I think it meant?" Theo asked in a low aside as they walked.

"Yes," both Blaise and Bella answered, knowing feel well what was about to go down and not wanting to elaborate any further.

* * *

"I'm glad you managed to make it back in time," said Hermione as the group met up on the train and found a compartment they could all share. "I was worried considering how long those types of events can last even when the actual competing is done with. I wasn't sure because of the plane travel."

Theo looked between Bella and Hermione, curious to know more about what Bella had been getting up to. Sure, they'd all met up two weeks previous at the World Cup Final, but Bella had a job that she trained for all-year 'round, and that officially started around mid-August every year and this time she was doing more and more than her former years. Meaning she would be gone a lot more too.

Bella rummaged through her handbag, a rather new addition to her wardrobe actually, and pulled out a familiar book they had all seen her secretly writing it at some point or another. She flipped it open and revealed something that looked like a necklace with with a golden disk hanging from the center. "This is the gold medal I won at my first assignment for the JGP series. It's barely real gold by the way."

She handed it over to Hermione first, who looked it over with keen eyes. Hermione handed it to Neville, who then handed it to Luna who actually tried to bite it twice. Luna gave it to Blaise who weighed it in his palm for a few seconds before finally passing it off to Theo.

"It's only partially gold," Theo confirmed, having been trained to spot these things. "I'd say it's mostly gilded silver. Maybe there  _is_  a small percentage of gold in it, but not enough to really count. Especially not to a Goblin."

Bella shrugged. "All I care about is that I was standing in the center at first place. That got me 15 points toward my position in the Final. All I have to do is medal in the next competition to gain the necessary points to  _guarantee_  me a spot in the Final. I have faith I'll be in first again. I only have one person who is true competition in my next assignment and she only got Bronze at her first assignment and her total score was about fifteen points lower than mine."

That lead to Bella staring off into space as she mentally calculated whatever it was she was thinking of.

Luna smiled fondly. "At least she's having fun."

Hearing Bella talk about figure skating made Theo realise just how wizards sounded when they talked about their favourite Quidditch teams. It was just another thing to prove that muggle-raised people, and most likely muggles themselves, weren't that different from magical people.

Theo was certain he never would have thought that before meeting Bella. In fact… before meeting Bella he'd hadn't a glimmer of hope in his future. He'd only had Blaise and his mother as a possible respite from his grandfather's clutches, and now, because of Bella, Xenophon was gone forever and Theo was essentially in charge of his own destiny.

Meaning he could study whatever he wanted, and go into whatever field of work he wanted, and he could even improve his knowledge on muggle happenings now without fearing punishment. And he'd get to learn for himself what muggles were really like without relying on the words of the close-minded or the biased to direct him.

He smiled to himself, pleased with the turn his thoughts had taken.

Any chance of furthering said train of thought was halted by their compartment door opening and revealing Draco Malfoy, who was surprisingly lacking his usual, grumpy bookends. He'd gotten shockingly taller over the course of the summer, much like Blaise had. Blaise would still tower over him though. Blaise's mum was very tall, and his father had also been a very tall person, so Blaise, according to Hermione, would also be tall thanks to 'genetics'. She hadn't been wrong thus far since he was the tallest of their group.

"Potter," the pointy-faced blond in the doorway acknowledge, startling the girl from whatever daydreams she was immersed in. "My father wished to extend his apologies over not introducing himself and my mother to you at the World Cup Final." He proceeded to hand over a box that Theo just knew held some kind jewelry that Bella would no doubt not care for. It would never be wore he was certain.

Bella accepted the gift with a dubious look and once she saw the string of black pearls therein, she wrinkled her nose. "Thanks." She did in no way sound grateful. "I should probably write him a letter of gratitude, right?" All of them, including Draco, knew she didn't fancy jewelry beyond the Slytherin Locket which she only wore now and then. So it was understandable at least why she was so unimpressed.

Also, black pearls were just gaudy and annoying.

"Please. I don't want him chewing my ear off even more over it."

The blond sent them all a nod of acknowledgement, made an abrupt about face, and left as quickly as he came.

"There's an ulterior motive to this," stated Bella, still staring down at the ugly necklace of pearls.

"He's a Slytherin," said Blaise. "Of course there is."

Nothing nefarious was prevalent in the apology though, so they decided to leave it alone for the time being. But if Lucius Malfoy suddenly became a problem later on, they'd know what to do.

* * *

The Great Hall was as it always was, though it was a lot longer than usual, and Bella was not the only person to notice it either. McGonagall did not mention it in her reminder speech though, and merely commenced with the Sorting.

It was some time during dinner that the Great Hall doors opened to reveal a man who looked like he'd been mauled by a bear. From a distance, Bella couldn't tell specific details, but the biggest things of note were the obviously fake eye and leg he had. The eye was an electric shade of blue and swiveled in every direction, which was off putting. The leg was wooden and covered in some places by what looked to be pure silver, and it made a clunking noise as the man practically hobbled down the center aisle.

McGonagall stood then and gestured to the man drawing nearer. "May I introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, former Auror Alastor Moody."

Bella's head whipped around to scan the Head Table for Remus, who was indeed sitting beside Sirius and looking perfectly contented as well. Not dead. Not irreparably injured. WTF?

"Professor Lupin has kindly decided to relocate to the position of History of Magic. Professor Binns has moved on to a better place this past summer at the behest of the Board of Governors."

There was a moment of pure silence from the students before they all erupted in cheers of relief and excitement. Applause for Remus and for the fact that their time would no longer be wasted in such a usually useless class. It was a general consensus that Remus was a damn good teacher and the students liked him very much compared to some other teachers.

Though… Bella was given pause. That meant he only officially taught for a year and was replaced, meaning Voldy's ridiculous curse was still active. Meaning this Moody dude wouldn't be staying for too long either.

"I feel this is a good time to tell you about why you needed dress robes," McGonagall continued after the moment of celebration. "The TriWizard Tournament has been reinstated and Hogwarts is hosting Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute this time around. The Yule Ball is a long-standing tradition of the TriWizard Tournament and will take place on 24 December, in which all of you fourth year and up are required to remain at the school for. Third years may attend the ball if asked by an older student, but only then. The dignitaries from both schools with be coming on 30 October and I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behaviour."

Murmurings began as students looked to one another for ideas.

"In years past the tournament accepted entrants of all ages, however this year we have decided impose a rule that no one under the age of sixteen may put forth their name for consideration," McGonagall added. "It is a dangerous competition and while we have worked tirelessly to ensure no deaths occur this time, we would prefer that only students with a decent amount of magical training be involved. We will not be changing our minds on this stance.

"Furthermore, all Quidditch endeavours will be cancelled this year and nothing can change that fact."

She promptly sat down, leaving the students to groan and gossip about the new information dropped on them. All the Quidditch fanatics looked heartbroken.

Bella merely grinned. Having Tom as a insider on these things was proving to be very useful.

"More for me to study!" Hermione hissed, pulling out a notebook so she could take some notes. This was becoming a habit for her.

"At least you'll get to see how things are handled so you can determine if something must be changed later on," Bella suggested with a shrug, which had the older brunette nodding absent-mindedly.

"The tournament hasn't been held in centuries," Theo confided, leaning across the table so they might hear him better over the din. "It was determined to be too dangerous so I don't know why they're reinstating it but I'm excited to see what'll happen. It'll break up the usual dullness of the term."

Bella scoffed. "They regularly allow fourteen year olds to sign into International League Quidditch Teams where they can die or become irreparably damaged, without a second thought, but think the death toll and danger levels in  _this_  is a problem?"

"As we have repeatedly noted, wizards haven't a lick of common sense among them," Blaise shrugged.

"Too true. We must fix that issue. Some people are going to die premature deaths because of it."

* * *

"Lucius, what is  _this_?" Narcissa demanded, holding up a letter that he did not recognise.

"I do not know, my dear," he said cautiously because he could feel that something unfortunate was about to happen and he was wary. Anytime his lovely wife was angry, bad things happened. Usually to him.

"Why are you receiving post from Belladonna Potter of all people?"

Oh no! He didn't think she'd respond. She'd been reliably informed that she barely acknowledge the proper traditions of a Pureblood. He'd assumed that she'd accept the gift as it was and leave it at that!

This one time she'd decided to follow the rules and it had to be now?

"You either tell me now or I open it and find out what is going on, Lucius, and you would not like the ideas floating around my head at the moment," she threatened, her sharp eyes narrowing dangerously.

His heart was pounding in his ears.

Often did they punish Draco for forgetting to follow tradition, but rarely did Narcissa find out how often Lucius broke tradition as well.

"I... many have noticed her attending the Quidditch World Cup Final back in Augusta, and avoided introducing the both of us to her," he said quietly, as if it was common information.

His wife's delicate jawline tightened and he just knew the situation had gone downhill very quickly.

"You caught sight of the Heiress of my maiden House, and decided not to to greet her? When we are trying to keep Cousin Sirius happy so he does not annul our marriage and embarrass us?" Narcissa asked slowly, taking her time to enunciate each word and making him feel all the more foolish the longer it took.

"Yes, dear."

"And you decided that it was best to ignore her because you were more concerned about some ridiculous game you and your friends wanted to play on the matchgoers?"

More hesitantly this time, he said, "Yes, dear."

"Is this going to be a letter about you angering her?"

"I should think not," he admitted. "I sent her a string of pearls in apology. Draco personally delivered them to her."

Narcissa tore open the letter without hesitation, her storm grey eyes flicking back and forth on the stationery. They lifted to look up him with burning distaste. "You are lucky she seems to be a decent girl, Lucius. Very lucky."

And then she was turning, and her heels clicked and clacked all the way down the marble-floored corridors of their home, making him wince with each sound as she went.

Just because the girl had taken it fine, didn't mean his wife did. And he was going to suffer for it.

* * *

Bella had limited time to talk to Tom that evening since she was busy finishing her Potions Essay that had been assigned last term for summer work. She'd forgotten so she was rushing through it, but was breaking now and then to write something to Tom who was the paragon of patience.

She hated essays.

 **So we're all ready for the dear old visitors to come along. They have been**  
**prepping the school something fierce. There's more classroom space, the**  
**Great Hall is bigger than normal, and we suddenly have a landing strip of**  
**all thing outside. I'm concerned about what would possibly need so much**  
**space in order to land there but it isn't small.**

It would probably fit an entire house actually.

Houses didn't fly. Well... muggle ones sure as hell didn't. Who knew what magical homes could get up to if the proper magic was cast on them?

 _It's a magical castle and there are no doubt measures involved it the secrets of its_  
_creation that allow it to be changed should it ever come to that. You do know that_  
_Hogwarts randomly rearranges itself every ten years, yes?_

**WHAT?!**

_Yes. Save for the Great Hall, Entrance Hall, bathrooms, and House dorms, the rest_  
_of the castle changes. When I was in school, the Transfiguration classroom for the_  
_First Years was on the seventh floor. I imagine that has changed by now._

If reading didn't end up sucking so much Bella would totally be down to finishing HAH. But it was just so annoying!

Voldy's soul piece could go screw itself.

 **Yeah, it's on the ground floor now. That is a cool bit of trivia and I should**  
**probably get around to reading Hogwarts: A History at some point in the**  
**future. And you know, since Remus is now the History of Magic professor,**  
**I might actually be learning about magical history now! How fun!**

 _What happened to him teaching DADA? He's still alive and sane of mind, and he_  
_hasn't been arrested. Why isn't he still teaching the class?_

 **We got this new dude called Alastor Moody. According to Theo, he was an**  
**Auror years ago. He helped the Ministry fill a lot of the cells of Azkaban by**  
**capturing baddies. He captured a lot of Death Eaters especially. I was then**  
**informed that he had nothing to do with their illegal imprisonment. That's**  
**the Ministry's job and they held each prisoner for a couple of days and then**  
**shipped them off without a trial, which sucks.**

 **Remus is now teaching HoM and I think it might actually become a good**  
**class now! The class average will definitely be going up too!**

Of course it probably meant less of doing homework in the middle of the class period but this could still be a good thing. Probably.

Bella had faith in Remus because he'd proven himself already to be a great teacher. She just wasn't all that into classwork, homework, or any kind of written work even if she was good at it.

Thankfully, she had that Dicta-Quill still and it was nice enough to write what she told it to. Unlike the rude arse pen she was using to write to Tom at present, that wouldn't stop missing its own ink.

And there she went again, assigning inanimate objects their own personalities and mental cognizance. Anthropomorphism for the win!

_Interesting._

_I have read about the Azkaban situation. I don't know what they think they'll do to_  
_fix it all though. Dementors were good at keeping the inmates in line even if they_  
_cannot be truly controlled by anyone. And they can't be killed either._

 **There are magical creatures out the arse that could keep the people in line!**  
**Y'all are some superstitious blighters, just get some big black dogs trained**  
**up and everyone will shy away from the 'Grims'.**

She'd heard all about it from Sirius. His Animagus form was enough to terrify a grown arse adult into shitting themselves if he so much as barked at them. How was she supposed to take wizards seriously when they panicked over any black dog they saw?

The hilarious part though was that Grims were actually supposed to be as big as grown horses and with red eyes. Sirius' Animagus form did in no way match that description but it had still be successfully used to terrify criminals and Death Eaters back when he was an Auror. Paying attention in school would have benefited all of them.

Reading and learning didn't seem to be a thing any magical people did ever judging by the enormous lack of common sense.

 _I for one, do not subscribe to the same fears as the rest of these fools. But you do_  
_have a point._

**I know.**

_You wear that humility so nicely, dear Bella._

**:)**

**It's like a hat. Some days I exchange it for something else entirely. It all**  
**depends on my mood.**

* * *

"I must stress the importance of stealth this time around. There are going to be a lot of visitors in the castle this year and you will not be able to avoid everyone, I'm certain. Therefore, you must be careful where you travel to and from so you don't ruin anything," said Batman as he handed over the Time Turner for the second year in a row.

Bella grinned in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Don't worry, I have an Invisibility Cloak."

She rarely had reason to use it because Bella wasn't one for exploring the castle at all hours of the night, but now she had a reason.

And B-Man looked relieved at the very least. "Good," he said. "Try to keep everything on schedule. And speaking of schedules, this is from your guardian."

He handed over a colour-coded piece of paper which dated her training times and competition days. Her second JGP assignment plus the Final were listed for the first term, and Bella smirked, already envisioning herself coming back with more gold medals.

"I got everything calculated, sir. Don't worry about me."

"I wasn't," was his bland reply. "Now out. And send Granger in as you go."

The two teens high-fived as they passed one another in the corridor. Bella headed off toward Sirius' office so she could Floo home. Year 2 of Bella's Super Secret Crazy Schedule was a go!

She seriously deserved an award just for the dedication she was putting in. And it should totally be made of discounted chocolate from Honeydukes.

* * *

Albus considered the present times. Nothing was as it should be and he was stressed. More so than he'd been in the past few years alone.

The Order of the Phoenix was nowhere near as powerful as it once was. A lot of the original members had died of natural causes or been murdered by Voldemort's supporters. Those left weren't as keen to get back to the plan to destroy Voldemort as they had used to be thanks to the losses they had suffered over the years.

With Prue proving herself to be utterly useless to the cause, Albus had been putting more and more time and attention into getting the Longbottom boy trained up. Augusta was so desperate for her grandson to show the same skills and promise as his father that she was completely on board with his planning without a care for Neville's feelings on the matter. It was a good thing she had control over him.

It was sad, but things like this were necessary for the greater good. If a child needed to suffer some things in order to see a great force of evil defeated, then so be it. There was more at stake than a single boy's happiness. The world would thank him for his effort one day, of this he was certain. They'd come to understand his vision one way or another.

But just because everything seemed like a lost cause on Prunella's end, didn't mean Albus would give up on her. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve to hopefully force her into realising that her input was necessary if they wanted to end Voldemort's tyranny. One did not reach Albus' great age without acquiring some skill in planning.

There would be a few incidents in the near future where Prue could be forced into action. He was already thinking up several things at once, which would show whether or not she was worth any further effort. If she managed to prove herself, then he would keep her in the wings just in case. If not, he would wash his hands of the Potters entirely.

"Albus, are you even listening?" Minerva demanded, looking surly.

He tried to wave off her displeasure with a smile, but that only seemed to make things worse.

"We were discussing any further concerns we might have for the upcoming term, Albus. Pay attention. If it becomes obvious that old age has caught up with you, the Board will see you removed post haste." And she was not incorrect with that assessment. He was nearing his expiration date and Lucius Malfoy would love to see him sacked.

Minerva then snapped around to eye the other Heads of House. "Belladonna Potter has agreed to perform something of her choice for the introduction of the schools. Filius has been working on it with her for the last month. Is she ready, Filius?"

The half-Goblin practically tittered on the spot, his long beard wiggling with the movement. "Oh, indeed! I've never seen something so marvellous and I now understand why she's put so much effort into this career path of hers. She must work indescribably hard to get the results she's shown me and I am so very impressed. We'll be charming the floor into ice, and there will be a charmed orchestra to play the beautiful sheet music she acquired for me! It'll be amazing!" he practically gushed.

The other Heads of House shared looks of interest, but said nothing on the matter, and Minerva sighed. "She is indeed ready for the day then? No problems have arisen?"

"None whatsoever! She is ready!" Filius assured them all, nodding insistently.

Belladonna Potter. Sister to the Girl-Who-Lived. Also not interested in defeating the greatest evil to ever exist even if she was more talented than her twin. She was so busy clinging to the muggle world as if she actually had a choice in the matter.

The Potter family ended up being rather useless to him in the end. After all that effort he'd put into gaining James' loyalty and by extension his wife and children, he'd nothing to show for it decades later.

Perhaps he should have focused on Severus from the start instead? He'd proven to be more useful these days. He would have been worth it had Albus managed to earn the young Slytherin's loyalty back then and actually taken his side when James did him wrong instead of brushing him off because he thought James would be more useful thanks to his Potter heritage. Severus would have become one of Albus' soldiers out of gratitude and not because he wanted the prestige that came with being on Albus Dumbledore's side - the winning side - of the war. Not like James had.

Such a shame that he'd wasted such a golden opportunity when it had presented itself. At least he had Severus in his pocket now. Severus was ready and willing to put his life on the line to see Voldemort destroyed and that dedication was what Albus needed the most.

"On a related note we  _do_  need something special to do for the Hallowe'en Feast though. And not another dramatic reading from one of the ghosts, please?" Filius asked plainly, and Minerva sighed.

"I'll think of something. It can't be that difficult to do new things every Hallowe'en Feast. We've been repeating the same segments for centuries. Something has to change."

* * *

First official day of classes. Hermione was all over the place. Her new schedule was even more detailed than the one last year because she'd finally found out how to properly manage her time. Bella's plan had been the best one in the end because it actually gave her enough time to do everything she needed to do while still remaining on top of a good sleeping and meal pattern!

The both of them would be doing 48 hours a day sans holidays and Sundays. It all just worked so much better this way! Bella being able to acclimate to such a schedule easily was impressive because it had taken Hermione a few days last term, but now she was up on it just like Bella was.

Hermione had officially turned fifteen in May of 2014. She would turn sixteen on 12 January 2015. She'd turn seventeen on 3 September 2015. It was all mapped out perfectly to the specific time. So long as she maintained the schedule she had set for herself, things would go on without issue.

She was pleased because this gave her additional time to attend class, study, eat, sleep, and do leisurely things on the side!

This school year was looking to be very interesting!

And knowing that she would get to use magic outside of school even faster than everyone else made her thrilled! It would make it easier for her to protect herself and her friends should anything like the QWCF ever happen again!

Hermione flicked through her stack of notebooks. One of each subject so far with each name written in black marker. She was ready to tackle anything this term!

* * *

On top of refining her current programs for the JGP, Bella also had to work on the program she was doing to introduce the visiting school to Hogwarts. She's decided to pay homage to the Queen Yuna Kim by performing her Short Program from the World Championships in 2007. She'd only been sixteen at the time and it was a beautiful piece of work that Bella was certain she'd perfected by now by making it a bit more difficult.

It was nearly three minutes of absolute perfection and Bella had spent a long time memorising Yuna's performances if only to feel just a bit closer to the woman. El Tango de Roxanne's instrumental was a beautiful piece and if there was one thing that could be said about Yuna Kim, it was that she always skated to the best music! She simply knew how to translate the story to the ice and no matter what, always pulled it off.

Hell, when she'd performed as Worlds back in 2007, she'd done it with a back injury, so Bella had some big skates to fill!

"Sirius has this thing called a Pensieve and he's going to record the memory of the performance and then let me bring the Pensieve to you so you can see how it went," she told Aaliyah and Deborah. "We're not sure if it's safe to bring a muggle camera over there. Sure, we can use electrical stuff but who knows what being around so much magic might do to it and I don't want to break it because it wasn't cheap and I don't feel like buying a new one so soon when I don't have to."

Even if she could easily replace it, that didn't mean she should be careless with her possessions. That was how one became the worst kind of greedy.

"What's a Pensieve do?" Deborah asked after a moment of silence.

"You take a memory and put it in this weird, golden bowl thing that's filled with some odd liquid. You then dip your head inside and can view the memory from all angles because it's like you're personally in the memory despite being unable to interact with anyone. I think everything else is in colour and you are in black and white to show the difference too."

"...Wow. Wizards have some interesting shite."

"Yeah."

Now if only they could invent magical television. Runes could probably do it if anyone tried hard enough.

In fact… Bella had another side project she was going to look into now because that sounded pretty awesome!

* * *

Being in class with Mad-Eye Moody was an experience. The madman had started them off immediately with practice surrounding the Dark Arts to an almost obsessive degree.

The former year, Remus had spent a lot of time familiarising them with various creatures and how to magically defend against them. While unlikely they'd ever actually be confronted with such creatures, it was best to at least know these things personally because anything could happen. Fate could be a bitch and make Murphy's Law a legit thing. So of course knowing life-saving information was useful.

Mad-Eye Moody clunked his way into the DADA classroom, his fake eye swiveling all over the room. The Slytherins were currently in class with the Gryffindors. Oddly enough, the man didn't seem to be anti-Slytherin despite his glowing records of putting Death Eaters away. It was a known fact that most DEs were former Slytherins after all and there was no hiding from that fact.

"Professor Lupin sat me down for a nice cuppa and explained what you've managed to learned since your year started here," Moody said and clunked on by the rows of desks, his staff making annoying thumping noises as it went. "And get rid of the books, they aren't necessary for this class. Not with my plans for you."

Hermione's offended look had Bella stifling a snort. Of course she would be offended when books would not be beneficial in classwork. That was why she was third best in DADA.

"You've gotten a taste of handling Dark Creatures and the like, but you've not really focused on spellwork, and  _that's_  what I'm going to teach you." He turned to face the room then. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, making them all startle. There was no good reason for him to have done that.

"This is supposed to be the year of counter-curses, but I say that's a load of rubbish! I've gotten special permission to educate you on the worst of the worst!"

Bella did not miss how pale Theo suddenly got, or how Blaise moved to pat his back in comfort. Neither of them said anything of course.

"I'm going to teach you how to spot the bad things coming your way. No Dark Wizard's just going to take a second to tell you what spell they're going to use. You need to be prepared! You need to know what you're up against! You need to put that love note to Mr. Malfoy away while I'm talking, Ms. Brown!"

The whole class whirled around to see Lavender Brown, red-faced and folding a piece of parchment as quickly as she could so she could stash it in her handbag. Draco's face was also red though it looked to be more out of disgust than Lavender's mortification.

And suddenly Bella knew what the funky eye was for. No wonder he was considered one of the best Aurors to come from Britain.

"So… what shall we start with first?" Moody asked rhetorically, already pulling out his wand. "Which of you know of the most heavily punished spells in the British Magical Community?"

Hands shot up instantly and Bella was not shocked to see Hermione's hand already up high in the air.

Moody chose Ron Weasley instead, much to Hermione's obvious dismay.

"Arthur Weasley's boy, eh?" Moody grumbled. "What do  _you_  know?

"Dad told me about the Imperius Curse some time ago and how it gives the caster total control over the victim. They could be forced to do anything essentially."

The fake eye of Moody's wasn't even looking at Weasley. It was twisted into the back of Moody's head, but the real eye was focused perfectly on the Gryffindor. "Yeah, you're father would know all about it. It's a favourite of the Dark Wizards, that curse. Perhaps this will help you understand why."

Moody clunked over to the teacher's desk, which was filled with oddly shaped jars. From one he produced a spider he spelled to grow to the size of his hand so everyone could see it no matter where they sat in the room. " **Imperio**!"

Bella watched as the man forced the spider to perform all kinds of stunts. Many of the students laughed, most of them from Gryffindor. But the majority of the Slytherins weren't laughing, and neither were Prue or Ronald.

It didn't pass Moody's notice as he forced the spider to jump across the desks and plant itself in Parvati Patil's hair. The Indian girl went deathly still as her laughter ceased, and Brown was screaming bloody murder beside her.

"Not so funny now, is it?" Moody growled. "What else could I have it do? Jump out the window? Drown itself? Try to kill one of you to the best of its ability?"

And silence reigned in the room as the full weight of just what the curse was capable of, hit them. "Absolute control over another being so long as they have a weaker Will than you. You-Know-Who's followers had a habit of claiming they were only acting under his control. It gave the Ministry loads of trouble in determining who was telling the truth, because they remember everything they've done when being controlled, it just feels different to them."

The spider was released from the curse and left on Moody's desk where they all could see it cowering on itself.

"Another curse!" Moody demanded, waving his hand frantically.

Less hands shot up this time, but Theo's was definitely among them, and both of Moody's eyes landed on him instantly. "Ah, yes! The Nott boy. Your family would know all about the Unforgivable Curses, wouldn't they?"

Theo nodded. "There's the pain curse, sir. The Cruciatus Curse. Causes unexplainable amounts of burning and spasming throughout the body from the inside. Prolonged exposure reduces the nerves to goo and can render the victim permanently vegetative."

Moody didn't even reply, he merely pointed his wand at the enlarged spider and said, " **Crucio**!"

The creature's body seemed to curl in on itself, shaking madly as if trying to escaping something. It made no noise, but Bella could tell that if it could, it'd be screaming, probably shrilly.

After what felt like an eternity of watching the poor thing suffer, Moody stopped the curse. "That was also a favourite of the Death Eaters. Especially on muggles. This was used on people at the World Cup Final if you'll recall. Not pleasant.

"Anyone have the final curse?"

Prue raised her hand and said, "The Killing Curse."

" **Avada Kedavra**!"

A bright and familiar green light exploded out of the tip of Moody's wand, knocking the spider over and causing it to cease all movement. "No counter for this curse. No escape. Only one person has ever been known to survive it and she's in this room."

Moody's real eye was trained on Prue, who stared him down defiantly, but Bella was given pause when she realised that his fake eye was facing her direction. As in he was staring at the both of them.

Did he know the truth about the Girl-Who-Lived? Prue's gaze trailed over to Bella's, who shrugged in equal amounts of confusion.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" the ex-Auror bellowed once again, making the whole class jump in their seats.

"I doubt any of you would be skilled enough to accomplish any of these curses at present. You could all come at me and I'd easily take you down, but if I'm not teaching you how to do them then why teach them at all?"

Bella's hand shot up and he nodded to her. "It's so we'll know what to expect and possibly how to avoid them if we can."

"Exactly! There are ways around the control of the Imperius. There are ways to prepare you for the pain of the Cruciatus. And there are ways to summon or transfigure solid items to take the brunt of a Killing Curse for you! And you'll be learning them with me. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

This was going to be a running gag, wasn't it? The whole class still jumped though, so maybe Moody was a real life, successful jumpscare. FNaF could take some notes.

"Take out your quills because there are notes to be taken!"

The class was very interesting to say the least.

Bella was a bit shaken up over it too. "We nearly got hit by a lot of Killing Curses at the World Cup Final," she noted as they walked to lunch. "We were much closer to dying that even I believed, holy shite."

When they met up with Neville and Luna at lunch, it was to find Neville quiet and withdrawn.

"What's wrong, Nev?" Bella asked. "Do I need to hurt someone? Because I  _will_  do something drastic without hesitation."

"He didn't like his DADA class," was Luna's answer. She was busy pouring him some tea. "Things did not go well for him seeing the Cruciatus in person."

"It's the curse that rendered my parents into what they are today," was his ever so quiet remark. "It's also what's left me stuck with my Gran as the Head of my family."

That was not good.

"Moody's different too," Neville added, his sour expression clearing a bit by his obvious confusion. "He's been training me forever which is enough time to understand how he works. And he's a bit different from what I've gotten used to."

Bella looked to Luna for answers, and the blonde merely shrugged. "Not everything is set in stone. Much remains up in the air."

Which meant she didn't know either.

But this was interesting because Moody seemed to know something about the real GWL and now he was acting odd according to Neville?

She'd need to keep an eye on him, but since he would know doubt have one on her, it'd be difficult.

* * *

 **The Killing Curse really does resemble my eyes, holy shite. Aren't I just so unique!**  
**Basic white girl with a basic hair colour, but at least my eyes are unique!**

_Why do you know this?_

And who needed to die as a result?

 **Chill, dude. Professor Moody decided that we needed to learn about the Unforgivables**  
**and his genius plan was to show us them first so we can get an idea of what to defend**  
**against. I saw a big arse spider bite the dust better than Queen and realised how close**  
**I was to death at the WCF.**

 _Fourth Years are too young to be seeing those! Learning is one thing but actually viewing them_  
_and how they affect living creatures?_

Most weren't even mature enough to truly understand them anyway.

This Moody fellow was mad.

 **Do you honestly think that, oh ye who sent a great snake to attack students before you**  
**were even sixteen?**

 _Attack, not kill. And I didn't use any of the Unforgivables until I was sixteen because I'd deemed_  
_myself ready._

Myrtle's death had been an accident as he had said before.

The Basilisk had been heartbroken and refused to come out of the Chamber after that. And Tom wasn't stupid enough to use one of those curses inside the castle! Not with Dumbledore breathing down his bloody neck all the time! He wasn't some thoughtless Gryffindor!

**You're sure a cocky twat sometimes IstG.**

_I never said I wasn't._

**So you got jokes! *APPLAUSE***

_I hate you._

**Suuuuuure. :)**

If anyone had ever chosen to talk to him like that back in school or the orphanage, horrible things happened to them. Yet when Bella did it he was amused. That had to prove that he and Voldemort were different people. Voldemort would have never formed a bond with anyone ever because he would have viewed it as a weakness. And yet Tom didn't particularly feel weak or susceptible to danger when communicating with Bella.

Perhaps it was because she was just the right kind of friend he needed?

* * *

"If I never hear the words _'constant vigilance'_  in the same order again, it'll be too soon," Theodore groaned as he lay down on his bed.

Blaise, who was busy writing his his journal, gave a nod to show that he was listening.

"Moody is as mad as people make him out to be."

"At least he doesn't target the Slytherins, so that's good," said Blaise quietly. "Though he doesn't seem to like Malfoy all that much, for whatever reason."

Theo snorted, reminded of their class and how Moody's creepy arse eye followed Malfoy's every move without hesitation. It probably had something to do with the fact that out of all the students with Death Eater parents, Draco was the most like his father. Theo strove to be nothing like the father he never knew, or Xenophon. Blaise wasn't the child of a Death Eater. Daphne was as far removed from her family as she could get. Tracey was only a Halfblood and her Pureblood parent wasn't a Death Eater. Pansy was too clingy to be like a Death Eater. Millicent wasn't very present in person. Crabbe and Goyle were just there to lumber around after Malfoy.

So despite him being more tolerable than his father, Draco was very much like him and that probably concerned the Death Eater catcher. Enough to practically stalk him at any opportunity.

"Neville doesn't seem to trust him though," Blaise murmured, closing his journal. "And when he said that, Bella seemed to just completely turn on him too. Wonder what that's about. Prunella doesn't seem too fond of him either."

Yeah. It was like they knew something. Though when it came to Bella it was really difficult to understand her way of thinking. It was just so strange most of the time! Her reasoning never really made any sense to them until it was too late.

"Maybe Bella will tell us what's going on later."

* * *

"Hello, Highmaster Karkaroff," Tom greeted with a calm and innocent smile. He was endlessly amused when the man in question seemed to stiffen and become less coordinated.

Tom had done nothing terrible or even relatively concerning ever since coming to Durmstrang, but he was very much interested in using psychological torture on Voldemort's former minion. Watching him squirm was the best entertainment Tom could get while stuck in a foreign country and surrounded by people he didn't like.

He'd deliberately been acting as if he was up to something, just to unnerve Karkaroff and keep him on the edge. Bella would applaud him if she knew the extent he'd taken this little game of his!

"Hello, Mr. Night," Karkaroff said with a nod that ended up being more of a fidget than anything else.

"How are you today?" Tom asked, trailing a finger over the bookcase in the man's office in order to inspect the gathered layers of dust that proved such vast amounts of knowledge and information were going to waste.

About ready to explode if the mad twitching continued to get any worse, from what Tom could see. And that would simply not do. His fun wasn't over yet.

"I'm doing well, Mr. Night."

"That's good. We all need to remember to take care of ourselves, don't we sir?" His tone was perfectly polite and his smile could fell angels. Nothing about Tom could possibly give anything away to someone unaware of his supposed relation to Voldemort. Tom especially liked to pull this in front of the other professors, just to give the man more hardship.

He was not a nice person and would never pretend to be. He was getting far too much enjoyment out of this!

"Indeed, Mr. Night," was all Karkaroff could manage to say in return.

"I wanted to ask if I could borrow some of your books here? I'm ever so interested in furthering my knowledge and you have some tomes I've never even laid eyes upon before."

It wasn't really a request and was more of a demand. Karkaroff knew that very well. Had anyone else been in the room with them though, it would have simply looked like a star pupil was inquiring after additional subjects to study.

Tom loved manipulating those around him. It was so easy!

Karkaroff's eyes became even more wide than before. "Help yourself. Any time you wish."

"Thank you, sir."  _For being so easy to control,_  he added to himself.

He would call this a success! He got the books he wanted and nearly made an ex-Death Eater soil himself. What a great start to the day!

* * *

"I'll keep good notes on everything for you so you won't miss out," Hermione promised. "I'll even use colour-coded pens so your attention doesn't wander when you're reviewing."

Neville presented Bella with a four-leaf clover. "For good luck," the blond had said.

From Blaise she got a hug and from Theo she got a supportive pat on the back.

Luna simply gave her a mysterious smile and said, "Do your best."

"I'll try," Bella promised with a grin.

* * *

 

   **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella's away and everyone's miserable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I will be posting Chapter 38 on Tom's birthday! The weekly Friday updates  
> will resume after that. I'm currently writing Chapter 42 now.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Estonia was really pretty and it had a kind of old world charm to it. Oddly enough, she'd gotten a similar feeling with the French Alps. And the Final would be held in Barcelona which was another one of those old world places, mixed with new world stuff. Pacing the pavements and feeling like you've been transported back in time wasn't a new thing.

Bella was bedecked in her club regulated tracksuit. It was nearly solid black to go with the whole Black Ice name, save for the icy blue lining around the collar. She was so far the only person from Black Ice to qualify for the JGP series in the past decade so it was a big deal for the club as a whole and she was expected to wear her tracksuit as much as possible for the promo.

It wasn't snowing outside so the temperature was a lot better than it was in the Alps thankfully.

"What museum are we going to?" was her first question the moment they left the hotel. And the reason she asked was because Aaliyah had been going on and on about the art and architecture of the place and Bella just knew it was coming eventually. She refused to just let them sit in the hotel room and use the place's terrible wifi. She wanted to keep active so that was what they were doing.

No one could ever accuse them of being lazy physically. They kept their arses on the move all the damn time.

"Not today of course, but tomorrow I have an itinerary all planned out to the hour. For now we're just getting dinner and acquainting ourselves with the change of time zones."

It was only about two hours but those two hours could mean the world, which was why they'd arrived two days early just to be safe. She wouldn't want to fuck up on the ice because her internal clock wasn't set correctly and she was dead tired. It wasn't like an injury would really bother her since it would be gone in no time, but it would get them a lot of unnecessary media attention and that was a big no-no.

"Nothing greasy though. Not until after the competition."

* * *

"I miss Bella," Luna pouted. "This isn't at all how I thought things were going to go while she was away at her competitions."

Hermione shrugged. "She's out there pursuing her dreams so we just have to be supportive and hope she's okay."

"Our leader is gone. I feel naked," the younger girl sighed, making Neville choke on his tea and turn his flushing face away. The poor blond was never going to come to terms with his crush if he was reacting like that to everything Luna did.

Blaise hummed in agreement with Luna's words. "Bella affords us some form of protection just by being our friend. She has the highest social rank out of us all and people are more wary of her now than before, especially since she's actually a Pureblood, even if she doesn't use that against them. With her gone it's like our buffer is missing and we might be targeted by others wishing to put her in her place. So while I hate having to say it…"

They all sighed and resignedly said, "Constant vigilance." Of course it was necessary now of all times. Bella would be gone for nine days. A lot could happen in that amount of time. It was a big castle and there were a lot of students inside it. And some of them did not like Slytherins. Some did not like muggle lovers. Bella was both and by extension, her friends would be viewed the same way whether all of them shared the same views or not.

Suddenly Hogwarts seemed a lot less safe than it was before. Not that it had felt all that safe to begin with if all this horrible stuff was happening behind its doors and it not being caught until it was too late.

The group of friends shared a look of annoyance.

"If something happens to any of us, I'm pleased to know that Bella will hunt the offenders down to the ends of the Earth," said Theo pleasantly, his expression one of complete serenity and acceptance. "She has no fear of getting her hands dirty for what she believes in."

That was indeed true. Luna couldn't See anything happening in their immediate futures, but she didn't need to See the future to know that Bella would tear anyone apart who harmed her friends. It was what made her such a good friend and leader. It also was what made her a candidate for the next position of Dark Lady because that kind of attitude could be warped very easily in certain people and Bella had all the makings to be a ruler if she wanted to be one.

Thankfully she didn't and she wasn't utter rubbish in human form either.

"We should get her a gift as a congratulations from her competition," Luna told them all.

"She wins this assignment?" Hermione asked, eyes wide with excitement.

Luna nodded. She could tell that much at least, but nothing further. Still, Bella would be absolutely thrilled by it and would be on cloud nine for days.

* * *

**I'm in Tallinn Estonia for the week. It's fucking beautiful in every direction and**   
**I can't believe this is my life rn.**

One where Bella got to see all these amazing sights multiple times a year. And the prospect of learning about the area didn't seem taxing in the least because it wasn't like she would be there all the time. Learning its history when she didn't live there and wouldn't be around for long didn't make her exhausted just from thinking about it.

Hermione would be so proud!

_That's relatively close to Durmstrang. If you explore the city you'll find their magical side_   
_somewhere in the center. They don't speak much English though, so you'd have to find a_   
_person to translate for you, or to cast a Translation Charm on you and those don't last all_   
_too long._

She didn't even know such a spell existed.

**So Durmstrang's in Northern Europe then. For some reason I was thinking it'd be**   
**in Russia on like the far Eastern side toward like North Korea.**

_No, that is Koldovstoretz which is near the border of Russia, Mongolia, and China to the far_   
_right but not quite as far as North or South Korea. Common knowledge, Bella._

?Since when?

**How is that common knowledge? Who the hell thinks, "Hey! I'm gonna go learn**   
**about a school I will never attend!"? Who would honestly care that much that it**   
**would be something they'd want to learn?**

_Those of us who want to know as much about the world as possible and like learning._

**Ew.**

Learning. Suddenly, she was feeling taxed.

_You are honestly the Drama Queen between the two of us. Learning is actually interesting_   
_and has its benefits, Bella. It wouldn't hurt you to attempt to find an interest in it._

***IN A GREMLIN VOICE* Double ew!**

_I will leave you here to talk to a blank page._

As if that threat had ever worked on her before! In fact, Tom had proven many times that he could not handle when Bella wasn't paying attention to him so this was just going to be another case of him coming back eventually because he just couldn't stay away.

Tom was needy and liked attention. He probably didn't realise that, but Bella did. Even when she annoyed him he never left for good because he liked speaking with her.

**As if I've never talked to a blank page before!**

**Tom?**

**Tom!**

Perhaps she should set a timer to see how long she could ramble before he came back?

Too bad she didn't have a mobile of her own. The one time she might actually need one and could put it to good use.

Still, she was betting twenty minutes at the most.

**Well then, I suppose I'll just have to talk to myself for the time being! Nothing I**   
**haven't done before tbh.**

**So I had to get another drug test before the competitions started and you should**   
**have seen the look of embarrassment on the dude's face when Aaliyah asked him**   
**if the results were going to be tampered with. NISA were the ones who sent him**   
**after all and it was a charged situation 'cause Major Arsewipe is still on the Board.**   
**Sirius actually offered to threaten him into compliance but I refused 'cause we do**   
**not want to involve magic too much if we don't have to. It could lead to stuff we**   
**aren't ready to deal with yet.**

There was no proof that Bella was the only magical person competing in a muggle sport. They just couldn't be sure so it was best to not do anything questionable just in case. Bella did not like being called a cheater and this wasn't something she would consider cheating in. Besides, it wasn't as if she knew if PEDs would actually work on a magical person.

Apparently, according to B-Man, there was an issue with magical children using pain killers and them not working as expected to, even in high doses. She didn't know what would happen but wouldn't risk everything just because she wanted to know. Not while she was still competing.

**On another note, I've been working on the intro for you when you come on over. I**   
**am in charge of it and it is going to be awesome because it is me. In the middle of**   
**the preparations though, I noticed something unfortunate. I have not grown much**   
**past my height after Second Year. I mean I don't look like a 13 year old in the least**   
**but I'm as tall as one and it doesn't seem like it will change any time soon which is**   
**annoying. Then again if my body grew too much or too fast I'd have to readjust my**   
**whole approach to skating in order to get used to it. So I suppose 165 cm is okay**   
**to stay at for the rest of my life. Hurrah.**

She was almost the same height as Yuna Kim, so it wasn't that bad.

Being taller would be awesome but it was obvious that that would not be happening any time soon if she was so close to turning fifteen and hadn't really grown much even over the course of the summer where she was supposed to shoot up like a beanstalk.

**Other things to think about is how much harder all our classes seem to have gotten**   
**suddenly. It's like they just dumped all this extra crap on us and said, well, handle**   
**it or else! Hermione and I got Time Turners so we can plan around this but so far,**   
**the others in our year aren't handling the additional work load all that well. Even a**   
**few of my friends aren't acclimating to the new load as well as they could.**

**Btw I really hate Astronomy now. It's cutting into my precious sleep time and that**   
**messes with my schedule. I hate Wednesday more than anything rn. I'd really love**   
**to know what use Astronomy would be to me in the future 'cause I am not seeing it**   
**now!**

_Certain types of magic are more powerful when specific celestial bodies are in position, Bella._   
_Such as Spell Creation, plucking potions ingredients, Runework, and Rituals._

**I thought you weren't speaking to me, Mr Tom A Dildo Lover.**

She'd called it! The clock on the bedside table said it had only been fifteen minutes since she'd started speaking to herself only. He'd actually been reading along the entire time, the twat!

This also proved that Bella knew Tom very well.

_I planned to leave you to it but you honestly just continued ranting on your own and that_   
_last line about Astronomy annoyed me. It is indeed very useful in magical application, you_   
_simply need to think on it more clearly and be more open-minded._

**If it is so useful why can't we get some better equipment where we won't need to**   
**wait until nighttime? I'm not the only person who hates losing sleep over it.**

_Such things exist?_

Oh yeah! he hadn't explored the muggle side of things yet. Bella had a job to do involving that!

Get Tom acquainted with the muggle world of today so he could better understand where she was coming from when she ranted.

**On the muggle side, yeah. Magicals really need to get with it already. I am dying**   
**here. They take all kinds of muggle ideas and re-work them and try to claim the**   
**ownership all the time, such as the Wireless and the Camera. If they are so into**   
**that, they can re-purpose telescopes too dammit.**

_I see you feel strongly about this._

**I'm more annoyed how magicals shite on muggles and their technology but then**   
**literally have no problem stealing their ideas and then selling it themselves and**   
**taking credit for it. Like those Omnioculars things. I know those are based off of**   
**Binoculars with a few adjustments and they've lied and told the magical people**   
**they invented the concept when, NEWSFLASH, they did not.**

It aggravated she and Hermione daily.

_Hypocrisy is a common theme found in the magical communities of the world, dear Bella._   
_Perhaps you and your friend Hermione will have to right those wrongs and make sure_   
_credit is given where it is due. At least on Britain's side._

**Maybe so.**

Set some damn records straight and get the magical people to stop acting as if muggles were incompetent because from what Bella had seen ever since joining the magical world, people were thick on either side of the divide. The circumstances of someone's birth did not stop humanity in its most basic form, from taking root in the hearts of men.

* * *

Oh, Bella was going to be furious when she returned! Hermione was dedicated to being a good friend though and was working on making the best notes possible for her friend to study from. She had different ink pens to use so the colours would stand out more easily and Bella wouldn't get lost. She also made certain to change font event now and then to keep things fresh.

The reason for this sudden bout of worry over Bella's mental well being was their Ancient Runes class. Professor Babbling had assigned them a project more intense than their first one from last term. This wasn't charming an article of clothing to protect against something. That was easy compared to this!

Babbling wanted them to each create their own Rune Stones and personal pouch for them to be used in Runic Divination. Bella did not  _take_  Divination which would mean that she would have to do  _extra_  studying on that subject just to be able to understand the duty required in this project. Bella didn't like doing extra work.

To no one's surprise, Hermione hated this project because she hated Divination with a burning passion!

Still though, she was taking the class and already knew the books by heart. It was just a matter of finishing the carving of her Rune Stones and then imbuing them with magic. Her pouch had been the first thing she'd done, and she'd crafted it out of leather and then painted the proper Runes on it in Dragon Blood that was acquired through an owl order.

She'd decided to make us of several small stones she'd gathered on the banks of the Black Lake and already had somewhere to place them when she was finished carving. Hermione believed in jumping on projects immediately.

Bella though… Hermione didn't know what she would be doing for this or how she'd pull it off. She'd have to either order something in the post or go digging in the Dark Forest for materials when no one was around.

At least Runecasting wasn't exactly like Divination in that it wasn't necessarily saying  _'this future is the one and only one you're in'_. This form dealt with cause and effect greatly and realised that the future was an ever-changing thing that couldn't truly be known by anyone no matter what. So at least it more tolerable.

Not as much as Arithmancy was, but better than plain old Divination. And it also helped that Professor Babbling was nothing like Professor Trelawney and didn't go around predicting dramatic and gory deaths for her students.

Never before had Hermione truly despised a teacher before coming to Hogwarts but there always seemed to be just one person who was there to be a terrible instructor and she was sick of it!

Maybe she could write another letter to the Board of Governors and get Trelawney fired too? She was a drunkard after all and that much sherry shouldn't be allowed in a classroom to begin with.

Anyway, that wasn't even the only thing they'd been warned about. Apparently there would be a group project coming up in their class too and Hermione was not looking forward to it. Any time she'd ever participated in a group project in school, she'd always ended up doing all the work and everybody else getting all the credit.

She hated group projects!

Maybe she'd be lucky and get Bella as a project member. Though Babbling was in charge of assigning the groups and she'd no doubt make it more even and putting the two best students in a group wouldn't be 'fair' to anyone else.

Who was she kidding? She and Bella wouldn't be partnered for this upcoming project at all.

* * *

Bella came in first after the Short Program! And what a program it had been! Aaliyah had been so proud!

**[RESULT DETAILS]**

**Junior Ladies**   
**Short Program:**

**Pl. #1**

**Belladonna POTTER**

**Total Segment Score(TSS):**  68.96 =  **Technical Element Score(TES):**  36.96 + **Program Component Score(PCS):**  32.00 & 0.00 Deductions

**[PCS]**  = **Skating Skills:**  6.75 +  **Transitions:**  6.52 +  **Performance/Execution:**  6.50 +  **Choreo/Composition:**  6.49 +  **Interpretation:**  5.74

**TOTAL:**  68.96

With a Triple Axel, a Triple Toe+Triple Toe, and then a Triple Lutz, Bella had done her Short Program proud. And to make it even better, she was 4.95 points ahead of the person currently in second place, which was Sandra Lewis ironically enough. And something else that made it even better than before, was that she'd set a new World Record for the Junior Ladies Short Program and that was a big effin deal for Bella!

All Bella needed to do was crush the Free Skate in two days and she'll have amassed 30 total points from her assignments, guaranteeing her a spot in the Final! And she'd most likely set another World Record for the Free Program, which would give her a World Record for the combined score! She was so excited!

"Bella, there are some folks that would like to ask you some questions," Aaliyah murmured in her ear to return her attention to the present where indeed, people with microphones and cameras were coming in their direction.

Ah, interviewers! She actually really hated interviews. She hadn't had to give many yet but the whole idea really annoyed her. Knowing that Prue had been dealing with this her whole life was eye-opening. She had to have acclimated at a young age in order to going about her day in Diagon Alley, not blinking as she's stalked from shop to shop by the papz.

"Ms. Potter, how are you feeling after earning your Short Program score and breaking the World Record?" one of the ladies who was bedecked in a pinstripe pantsuit asked, shoving a mic into Bella's face.

What to do when uncomfortable? Grin and pretend to be happy.

This was the one thing about fame that she didn't like. And she knew it would only get worse the more popular she became.

"I felt really relieved."

* * *

"Am I the only one who doesn't like Moody?" Prue asked, taking great care to make sure her mouth remained in a firm line just in case. The man had a freaky eye that could see through walls for however many meters and he could read upside down love notes from across a room while his back was turned, plus tell what Hagrid was up to in his hut despite being arse deep in the castle and facing a completely different direction. Who knew if he could read lips from a distance too?

She and Ron had decided to join Bella's friends for the day because things were boring as of late and Gryffindor just wasn't the place to be. The House was broken up of mature people, immature people, prejudiced arseholes, and those who were basically there just to take up space and for no other reason since they seemed to make no impact anywhere. So the two friends had joined the group in the library for the umpteenth time to just get some other stimulation with people who  _weren't_  annoying.

Neville Longbottom grunted. "He's different." He didn't elaborate any further though, leaving Prue to look toward one of the others for an explanation.

Luna ended up being her hero. "This Moody isn't acting like the one who trains Neville during the summer."

Well that was damn suspicious. And it made her feel so much better over not trusting him. He had a weird habit of staring at Prue too. Not in the Lockhart way though which was great, but it still felt like he was judging her from a distance and she didn't even know him. He also liked staring at Bella when she was around to give him the opportunity to.

Longbottom twitched and sat upright. "In the summer, Moody told me Dumbledore was in contact with my grandmother to make my training even harder."

The group all froze. None of them liked Dumbledore. He'd proven himself to be absolutely useless to the world as a whole, and a massive dick. Prue's reasons were a little more understandable, and just now she'd been given another reason to hate him.

"Because  _I_  don't want training," Prue concluded quietly, with an air of understanding none of them had expected. "So he wants to work you over as the Boy Who Lived, right? Like a misdirection because he refuses to take Voldemort out himself and has put so much faith into Trelawney's prophecy."

Granger's head snapped around and her brown eyes narrowed. "He's really willing to do that?"

From the looks Zabini and Nott sent her, and the sigh she gave in response, they'd all come to the same conclusion. Of bloody course Dumbledore would do something like that! Getting others to fight his battles seemed to be a recurring theme if the speculation over him sending Newt Scamander after Grindelwald instead of doing it himself, was true.

Hell, Prue had  _known_  he would do something like that and had brought it up to Bella two years ago! And now it was actually happening. Bella was going to be angry when she got back from her competition. She didn't take threats to her friends easily and she really seemed to detest Dumbledore.

"Moody doesn't seem to remember any of that though," Longbottom confessed a moment later. "We trained all July but he's been saying he spent all summer preparing for this school year and he didn't. Half the summer he was working with me and then the other half he had important business to see to. It's just- something's not right."

Hmmm...

Prue rifled through her bag and pulled out the Marauder's Map Special Edition. She noted Granger's immediate interest in not only the large piece of parchment but the code she had to speak in order to activate it. The page crinkled into various shapes and opened like a book, revealing black writing and little footprints flickering over the page.

"From James. I was given it back in First Year and rarely use it but it has its uses now and then," she explained briefly while searching for Moody's name.

Granger leaned over the table in order to get a better look at it. "How did someone manage this? Hogwarts is unplottable!"

"The land itself is unplottable," Prue agreed, "but this isn't for the location of the building, but of the things inside the grounds. There's no specification of the country we're in or the region. It's connected to the four corners of the wards and then goes out from there. Ask Remus about it. He did the primary work on creating the map."

She found Moody. "Moody's in his office." But… "Barty Crouch is  _also_  in Moody's office?"

"The Head of International Magical Cooperation?" Nott asked, looking confused.

"Apparently. I don't know why though. There's no reason for him to be here."

"Can that see  _anyone_  within the wards?" Granger asked.

"Yes. All places the Marauders managed to find were marked on the map. Remus recently updated it a bit for me. Including secret passageways and their passwords. Invisibility Cloaks, Polyjuice Potions, Animagi, and Disillusionment Charms can't fool it. Ghosts and Poltergeists even pop up."

" _Amazing_ ," Granger whispered, eyes wide with interest.

Essentially, they'd learned that Moody was acting strange, Dumbledore was being an interfering old coot, and Bella was going to lose her shite when she got back from Estonia.

* * *

"Hey!"

Bella turned and found herself standing face to face with Sandra Lewis in the middle of the hotel's ugly, brown and red lobby.

The other girl was taller than Bella by only a little bit, and she was certainly more slim overall. Bella was more muscular though with her thighs and arms filling out more space in her tracksuit. Enough to make it a little tight in some places. In contrast, Sandra's tracksuit fit her perfectly everywhere.

"You're the only other Brit here," Lewis explained once they were next to each other. "I don't really know anyone else at this competition all that well. This is only my second run through the series and it's still a bit awkward to be around all these unfamiliar people."

Yeah, Bella was feeling that awkwardness right now! She hadn't really spoken to any of her fellow competitors so far and hadn't felt the urge to. Yet playing nice was also encouraged at the events and drama outside the rink would not be tolerated especially if they ended up making NISA look bad! Oh they would be fucked if that happened. Bella couldn't afford tainting her reputation with incorrect perceptions of pettiness.

"Don't feel bad," Bella assured the girl with an awkward smile. "I don't know anyone but my coach and have basically stuck by her side the entire time we've been here."

"Want to go for lunch?" Lewis offered. Her demeanour was on the chipper side. She seemed energetic and Bella just knew that being exposed to this kind of mentality for too long would drain her completely. But then she needed to maintain a pleasant image even if she honestly did not want to go and get lunch with a girl she barely knew.

"Sure. I have to tell Aaliyah first though," Bella said, gesturing toward the lifts.

"You don't have a mobile?"

"Not yet. I don't really want to get one yet."

"Damn! I would've given you my number!"

Bella was fourteen - going on fifteen in about a month - and she did not have a mobile phone yet. Perhaps she should finally get one as well as an Twitter account. It wasn't like she couldn't afford to buy herself one and get the service for it.

She withheld a sigh. Apparently it was time for a mobile of her own.

* * *

"We cannot simply  _empty_  all of Azkaban! That's impossible and filling people's heads with the idea was foolish!"

James scoffed at Fudge and fixed the portly man with an unimpressed look. "After 35% of the inhabitants have been sent to St. Mungo's because they were in that place illegally and need mental assistance, that leaves four hundred and three people and the Ministry has two hundred and ten cells. Placing them two to a cell under magical restraints isn't so difficult. They wouldn't be able to harm one another or see one another for an extended period of time!"

"We do not have the means to feed so many people at the Ministry!" Fudge insisted, his face turning an unpleasant, ruddy colour.

"It's not as if you were feeding them like you were supposed to these past fifteen or so years!" James countered. "I can't fathom you suddenly caring about feeding them now."

Madam Bones slammed the gavel down. "Order!"

The other Lords and Ladies in attendance had sat back and allowed James and Fudge practically scream at one another for several minutes. A lot of them, even the Dark Tossers, were on his side. While he hated having to take their support, he knew it was best to take advantage of their help in fixing the problem before the elections. New politicians in charge would make it more difficult to fix this shite and playing on the fears of the ones he new personally was much easier.

Madam Bones cleared her throat and looked around. "We are all emotionally invested, and I understand that this is a serious issue but please attempt common courtesy between yourselves."

The rest of the court shifted a bit, looking unpleased.

"The remaining Azkaban residents  _will_  be transferred to the Ministry's holding cells for the following week as we work on clearing Azkaban of the Dementors as well as cleaning it up. The Ministry's House Elves are being prepared to undertake this task. This is a non-negotiable action, Cornelius," Bones said, giving the Minister the stink eye.

"But where do we put the Dementors?!" the corpulent man demanded, hands raised in frustration. "There's hundreds of them!"

"And whose fault is  _that_  for letting them fester so much?" James said acidly.

Amelia sent him a quelling look and James backed off for the moment. It was just so difficult to control himself when Fudge was being a damn idiot! A willfully blind idiot at that. And said idiot was supposed to be their fearless leader.

"Anyone have an idea on how to corral a massive group of amortal non-beings?" Bones asked the court expectantly.

"Runes?" Lord Greengrass suggested. "Trap them somewhere or send them to another plane? We can open portals to other places and have done so before, so why can't we do that for them?"

That was honestly the best suggestion James had ever heard. He hated agreeing with a Death Eater!

"I second that," James added, even though he was pained to do so. "That's a good idea."

"And what about more that end up appearing because of all the building despair in the world?" Fudge said, floundering for some kind of ground in this debate.

"Seal them away with more Runes." The need to smack the man was strong.

Bones looked around the room and sighed. "The Unspeakables and Aurors will be dispatched to handle the Dementors." The gavel was slammed down for good measure.

* * *

The crowds for the JGP assignments were about the same size as those for Nationals. It was comforting in a sense because Bella knew that the JGPF would be even larger because the Final was held alongside the Grand Prix Final so Juniors  _and_  Seniors would be competing in the same rink, on the same ice, and there would be a larger turnout of viewers for the Final.

The zamboni was currently at work in preparation for warm ups. Bella was doing warm up splits on the yellow and red checkered carpet that smelled stale, legs spread completely apart and torso pressed flush against the floor with her arms pulled backward. She took deep breaths in and out, and felt her back pop a few times. And that was why this was necessary. Loosening up the body was very important in their sport.

"How was your date?" Aaliyah asked from where she stood above Bella, holding her arms upright so her palms nearly touched each other.

"Not a date," Bella huffed. "Lewis doesn't do it for me." At all. "It was awkward on my end but I honestly don't think she can even sense awkwardness. She's like what a Hufflepuff  _should_  be. All positivity and hard work and honesty." Like Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls but with a far less squeaky voice.

"It's good that you got out and did something different for once. Sometimes your routine concerns me because you basically do the exact same thing every day of the week, for twice the amount of time than normal people live out a week, and it sounds tedious to the ear when you never do anything else."

"Sundays are free days, if you'll recall."

"Yeah. A day where you just go to the library if there isn't a chance to go to the village. Great fun for teenagers, huh?"

She had a point in a way, but they literally went out to lunch every single day. And they didn't go to the same place. And sometimes Bella went to the cinema with her fellow clubmates in order to foster better relationships with them. Hogsmeade was a thing too. Bella saw a lot more action than the tedium other Hogwarts students were forced to deal with all term thank to her using a Time Turner to get all this work done every single day.

"I didn't exactly enjoy myself though. With my friends things are at least a little better." Joking around, eating sweets on the sly, and playing board games and card games that she'd brought over and forced them all to learn because Gobstones and Exploding Snap were boring as hell. Also, eyebrows did not grow back that quickly and she kind of needed hers for commercial purposes.

Bella shifted out of her position and rolled onto her back. Legs and feet all the way up and then back until the toes of her trainers touched the floor on either side of her head. She no longer needed Aaliyah's help to keep the position thankfully. Her flexibility was great on its own now.

"Making other friends wouldn't kill you. That's a skill you definitely need to work on, kiddo."

Yeah, she just sucked at it. The rest of her friends seemed to as well though, so they were all perfect for each other. After that first year of getting to know one another, things just blossomed on their own.

Anything further was cut off by the announcement of the warm up times and Bella's group was set to get the ice first.

Bella would be skating first in the Free Program too so she had to be careful while warming up and make certain her clothes were in pristine condition.

The lights overhead were nearly blinding on the ice and Bella was reminded of why she wore contacts all the time. Some sacrifices were necessary if one wanted to be legendary. Poor vision was simply one of those sacrifices.

And maybe one day she would be able to take the Oculus Potion to cure her eyesight completely. You know, when she didn't have to get drug tests and blood work and all that crap on the muggle side where a very sudden improvement in her vision would make doctors far too curious.

As she got to her feet, she spotted Lewis waving madly at her from where she and her mum were standing by the Kiss & Cry. Bella offered a half-arsed wave in return.

Yep. Awkward.

"Kiddo, you are the biggest awkward turtle I've ever seen."

"I  _know_! Give me a break!"

* * *

Prue had taken to keeping the Marauder's Map on her person at all times because it just made her feel more secure oddly enough. After Remus had gone and made it even better than it was before, she just felt safer with it around. And knowing all the possible exits around her was nice.

Something about the school year was bothering her and she couldn't pinpoint what it was beyond Moody's dubious presence.

Homework was more stressful these days and she was really regretting taking Divination when it was so pointless. Her Dream Diary was just filled with rubbish and Trelawney honestly didn't realise that most of her classes save for like Brown and Patil, were faking it. But because she was so bloody dramatic, she accepted everything they all 'predicted' as the Circe-damned truth.

So far Prue and Ron had predicted each other's gruesome deaths just to appease the madwoman. Prue's in a  _'violent exchange with a deadly creature'_  and Ron's  _'through a bout of depressive loneliness'_. They had been amusing at the time, but now just felt ridiculous. They had to go to such lengths just to obtain a decent grade in an 'ancient art' that couldn't even be taught if someone didn't have the Sight.

She passed by the Founders' portraits while passing through the Entrance Hall, and ended up being called over by Salazar Slytherin of all people. Her ancestor whom she'd never really considered much beyond being related to the Gaunts who were related to him.

It was easy to forget she was a Parselmouth when she never used the ability. There were no snakes in her life for her to practice the ability on after all and she saw no reason to summon any snakes either. So Prue just went through life completely forgetting a part of her heritage that Bella didn't seem to think was important to force upon them both at every minute of the day.

"Yeah?" she asked once she got near enough to the old portrait who stared her down intently along with his fellows.

"You are my other descendant, yes? Belladonna's younger sister?"

"Yeah."

"And you've yet to come and speak with me."

Was this conversation just going to be him pointing out the obvious?

"I didn't really find you to be someone worth talking to," she admitted bluntly. Her words made Helga Hufflepuff sputter in obvious offense. "You're an afterthought of a man long dead, who wasn't even created after all of his life experiences so you don't really have anything to offer me. And since Bella doesn't spend her time on you either, I know I'm not wrong."

There was a moment of dead silence where Slytherin stared her down like he was trying to evaluate her or something.

Finally, he said, "A very Slytherin way of looking at it. You feel no respect for me at all, do you?"

"No." People put too much faith in the Founders and it got to the point where she was sick of hearing about them and sick of people fighting over the supposed values of each House. Old people who were long dead were still causing problems in their school even when things had been set to rights with real facts from Godric's own mouth. "I'm not respecting any of you just for being older than me or for founding an institution of learning that just ended up being filled with bigotry from one side to the other. And I've learned that sometimes your relatives don't deserve your respect or concern in the least, just because they share your blood."

It sounded pretty harsh when she said it out loud, but Prue couldn't be forced to care about someone she didn't know and didn't  _want_  to know. Family did not deserve consideration just for a blood relation between them. It was a lesson she'd learned long ago. She wasn't going to pander to the portrait of a person long dead, the same as she wouldn't to a Ghost. The true spirit was no longer among the living and what remained were like a single breath hovering in the air that was being twisted and turned from one direction to another.

Salazar didn't seem annoyed by her words at least. Not like the other three did. It looked like Prue was about to get her ear chewed off by Hufflepuff at any second.

"You're not very Gryffindor for someone sorted into that House," he observed.

"I honestly don't know how I even got Sorted. I'm not brave. If it doesn't involve my job then I don't have a work ethic. I'm not even smart. And I'm not cunning either. I think I was just Sorted to Gryffindor because I knew Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber would have thrown equally massive tantrums otherwise and the Hat was saving me from it. They complained when they found out Bella was a Slytherin and I would have never heard the end of it if I didn't get into Gryffindor." The Hat probably only placed her in Gryffindor because of her parents' expectations. That's how Ron ended up in Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff after all.

Prue was literally… kind of hopeless. It was a bit pathetic but she couldn't force interest into things she didn't like so she was kind of fucked. It was Quidditch or nothing.

Salazar hummed. "If you ever feel like exploring your heritage, the Chamber of Secrets has an entrance from the second floor girls' lavatory. Speak Parseltongue to the sinks and it'll open. I think you'd find it interesting in there. Be careful though. My familiar should still be down there and she's a Basilisk."

She would never be one to explore… but a big arse snake below the school sounded pretty cool!

And the legendary Chamber wasn't on the map because obviously the Marauders never would have found it. And she would know where it was! Prue  _did_  like the thought of knowing things other people didn't.

"Maybe I'll check it out." Which meant she would definitely be checking it out even just to see what was in it.

Salazar nodded and she took that as permission to leave.

Prue hustled out of the hall before the other Founders could get anything out. She could see Hufflepuff frothing at the mouth with the need to reprimand her and Prue didn't care enough to listen to a painting rant.

On the way out, she checked the map again for a sign of Moody and found him… still in his office in the same place. Did the guy just stand around and think to himself or something? He had a fake leg and standing for too long didn't seem smart.

Her eyes passed over Barty Crouch's name again, except this time it was in the Potion's Cupboard and Snape's name was nowhere within the same vacinity. Why was he still coming around? There was no reason for him to be at Hogwarts, right? And why in Snape's space?

Crouch used to be an Auror and he saw a lot of Death Eaters sent to prison. Presided over a lot of court hearings. Maybe he was harassing Snape because of the Death Eater rumours. He always did want his former glory back and maybe he thought this was a good way to do it?

And now she wondered if she should say something. Prue did not like Snape at all and she knew the feeling was mutual. But it was kind of strange this guy with no reason to be in the school, was in the Potions Cupboard and was rifling through Snape's potions ingredients when Snape wasn't even around. There was no reason for Crouch to be at Hogwarts, let alone stealing someone's potions ingredients which weren't cheap.

With a groan, she made an about face and started down the corridor toward the stairs, locking the map up and stuffing it into her bag. Snape was in his office which was further into the dungeons, far down from the potions stores which were also connected to his classroom. If done quietly, he wouldn't know anyone was stealing from him if he didn't have a ward up.

She knocked on the door when she arrived, and sighed when his surly, ' _enter_ ' was all that greeted her.

He did not look pleased to see her and the feeling was mutual. "Professor," she began, using his title for the first time ever in order to get him to pay attention, "I um... saw Barty Crouch coming out the potions stores with some stuff."

Snape's right brow ascended to a ridiculous arch. "Bartemius Crouch of all people is inside Hogwarts for no reason, and is rummaging through my potions ingredients?"

Quick thinking was needed! "Actually, I've been seeing him a lot lately," she said, which wasn't a complete lie since his name was always next to Moody's on the map. "But I don't know why he keeps talking to Professor Moody. They're always in his office whenever a moment of Moody's time is needed." That sounded believable. As if she'd physically seen the man in the school because she wanted to talk to the new DADA professor.

"And you saw him... leaving my potions stores?"

"I saw him go in with nothing and then leave with vials being shoved into his pockets." That also sounded believable. "He's not good at sneaking and is very obvious about it."

"Hn." Snape looked up at the clock and then back to Prue. "Thank you for coming to me with this, Ms. Potter." He looked like he was dying inside from just having to say it. It was hilarious! "Deduct six inches from the required length of your potions essay."

Do Snape a favour and he does you one! Prue suddenly got why the Slytherins liked him so much because he did not give anyone Points/Merits, but he awarded in different ways. Awesome.

"You're welcome, sir." Maybe Snape wasn't that bad. And this meant only half a foot necessary for her essay that she hadn't even started yet!

* * *

**Amara,**

**Election Day is crawling closer and closer and I finally understand your concerns.**   
**After what's been on going on in the Prophet because of Fudge recently, I think I**   
**can honestly say that the future does not look good for us. Especially if Voldemort**   
**is still out there.**

**If one of his supporters wins, it'll pave the way for a smooth return to power that**   
**will be uncontested since APWBD has no plans on stopping him. And if somebody**   
**who doesn't support him wins, they will still make it easy for him to win because**   
**they all think he's dead and wouldn't believe he's still around for fear of what that**   
**would mean. The public's reaction to the Prophet articles after the World Cup are**   
**proof of this.**

**After Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew escaped Azkaban, and then the Death**   
**Eater attack at the World Cup, I am thinking we are going to get serious movement**   
**in the next year, from Voldemort's side. And I am just worried that none of us will**   
**be ready for it thanks to a shabby Ministry and a senile old wizard who has all the**   
**power to stop Voldemort, but doesn't seem to want to.**

**No one else in our community seems like they'd be able to go toe to toe with a 90**   
**year old wizard of great power that had literally been on the cusp of victory during**   
**the first war. He was labeled a genius all that time ago. Who knows what else he's**   
**learned since 2001. If Magical Britain nearly lost to him when he was in his 60s, I**   
**don't think they'll be much of a match for him in his 90s.**

**With much concern,**   
**Mione.**

 

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter you've all been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Happy Tom's B-day! Dec 31st! Fear not! Ch. 39 is being edited for  
> Friday and I'm writing Ch. 42 now.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"I'll be putting them under the Imperius Curse, my Lord."

"And you managed to gain the permission for it?" the Dark Lord asked, honestly baffled by it.

"Easily," Barty confessed. "Almost too easy actually. McGonagall had been against it at first but Albus Dumbledore had vouched for who he  _thought_  was his long time friend, and the permission had been granted if a bit reluctantly."

Dumbledore had to have a reason for wanting it to happen. There was a time back when Voldemort was a student, that Professor Merrythought wanted to show the Unforgivables to the students and he'd complained nonstop until Armando Dippet finally conceded to his demands and refused the woman's request. And now he was suddenly okay with the students being exposed to it?

Of course the old bastard had some kind of plan up his ridiculously long and sparkling sleeves.

"Make it a lesson to never forget, Barty. I want the Potter girls especially tested and you will reveal their experiences to me once the experiment if over."

Barty bowed low. "Of course, my Lord."

§ ** _He's annoying me,_** § Nagini hissed as she shifted her coils around Voldemort's form in order to find a more comfortable position.

§ ** _He's merely a devoted follower, my dear._** §

§ ** _An annoying one._** §

She wasn't wrong.

* * *

Okay. Okay. She'd never done this on her own before because there'd never been a reason for her to. It wasn't as if Prue grew up surrounded by snakes where she could harness this ability and this learn the ins and outs of it. She was just winging it here.

The lavatory was empty because it was haunted by Moaning Myrtle. She died in the toilet at the end of the row when she was still attending Hogwarts back int he 40s. She was so attached, she never left. Well, there were reports of her leaving to harass her school bully for a time, because she was angry at the girl for putting her in the situation that got her killed to begin with. After being threatened with exorcism, she returned to Hogwarts to be miserable.

Myrtle did not come out when Prue entered the room. In fact, Prue couldn't hear her crying anywhere. Perhaps Myrtle had gone somewhere else for the time. Sir Nick was good at coaxing people out of depressed silences, Maybe he was to blame.

The sinks, Salazar had said. The bloody sinks understood Parseltongue apparently and would lead her down into the Chamber of Secrets.

She spotted the snake design quickly. It was hard to miss the metal snake curling around the faucet. So she had to concentrate on snake things. Snakes. Slithering. Hissing. Coils. Reticulated Pythons.

§ ** _Open._** §

Watching as the sink sank into the floor and the others split apart to reveal a massive hole, was awesome. Seeing how unclean the hole was, was gross though. Why was a big hole necessary.

_'My familiar should still be down there and she's a Basilisk.'_

Okay. That would explain some things. A Basilisk-sized hole. A thousand year old Basilisk at that.

Was there a way down other than the Slide of Doom? She couldn't see anything but darkness.

" **Lumos**!" The spell's light extended pretty far, showing that it was indeed just a massive slide.

§ ** _Are there any stairs?_** §

As if summoned, some very thin and steep steps began to pop out of the stone with loud, grinding sounds. They were curved upward a bit, as if to prevent slipping backward on the way back up.

"So I'm doing this," Prue said to the empty room.

And she did.

* * *

"I was gone for a week and a half! How did all this crap just pile up in so little time? It was still only the first month of school!" Bella demanded as she looked over the very detailed list of things Hermione had taken great care to write down for her.

It was a good thing she needed to make up for those days away and would be living out 72 hours for the next week or so because how the hell else would she catch up on all of this homework? What did they expect from fourteen year olds and why did no one think it was a bit unfair?

Bella had access to an unlimited amount of time on her end, but no one else but Hermione did. How did the teachers expect them all to manage this in so little time? They were some very unrealistic expectations.

> ** The work she had backed up: **
> 
> _-An essay on the properties of Hellebore and what potions it is safe to be used in, and_   
>  _which ingredients it shouldn't be mixed with. A minimum of a foot and a maximum of_   
>  _two feet was the length requirement._
> 
> _-A foot long essay on the benefits of Runic Divination compared to Tasseomancy, plus_   
>  _and in depth look into the faults of Tasseomancy Vs Runic Divination._
> 
> _-Create your own set of Runecasting pieces, pouch included, for Runic Divination. Use_   
>  _in class will be a necessity in the following months so make certain they are crafted in_   
>  _the proper time and place for the most effective results._
> 
> _-A foot long essay on the Magical Euro-War of 1810 and how it affected the rest of the_   
>  _magical communities in mainland Europe. Explain why it could have easily been solved_   
>  _had the French simply had a Runes Master at their disposal._
> 
> _-A foot long essay on the the Magical Purge of the British Ministry in 1818 and explain_   
>  _why it was an unnecessary action in the first place._
> 
> _-Master the Summoning Charm._
> 
> _-Master turning a hedgehog into a pincushion, turning a guinea fowl into a guinea pig,_   
>  _and the Vanishing Spell._
> 
> _-Describe with three examples, the ways in which Transforming Spells can be adapted_   
>  _when performing Cross-Species Switches. Minimum of 1,000 words. No coloured ink is_   
>  _allowed._
> 
> _-Memorise the list of British magical flora in alphabetical order for a surprise quiz some_   
>  _point in the future._
> 
> _-Use the Chaldean Method of Arithmancy to discover your divinitory numbers. Show the_   
>  _work clearly. Be prepared to demonstrate this method with a randomly selected name in_   
>  _class._
> 
> _-Three individual essays on the origins of the Unforgivable Curses and why they weren't_   
>  _originally Unforgivable._
> 
> _-Perfect your use of the Disarming Charm._
> 
> _-Show some progress on the Shield Charm._
> 
> _-Master the Knockback Jinx silently._

It was like a never-ending list of expectations! And suddenly the fancy Dicta-Quill she'd been gifted years ago was necessary because Bella did not feel like hunching over and writing for all those essays for hours on end!

Hermione shrugged. "It's reasons like this that you were given a Time Turner in the first place. I'll help though, so don't worry. I've done all of my work and know exactly what has to be achieved in each essay at the very least and have already been graded on some of them so I can guide you on what to do so you'll get the best grades as well."

Thank God for people like Hermione who were so committed to helping people that they would take the time out of their own busy schedule just to help someone out. Bella would be utterly screwed otherwise. She hated homework. And schoolwork. And written work that required reading. It was hard having to pay attention to doing it all!

But this was for skating! Once she got her O.W.L.s she wouldn't have to deal with this crap any longer and could just continue going about on her own. Then she be allowed to keep her wand and her magic would remain unsealed until her early seventeenth birthday where the threat couldn't be used at all.

Seventy-two hours a day for at least nine days. She could do this.

Bella took a fortifying breath and pulled out several empty parchment sheets.

The gold medal resting on her bedroom desk at home was enough of a reminder for her that this was necessary. She was doing so well and she needed to get used to the excess workload if she wanted to prosper.

* * *

Three official weeks getting back into the swing of things was stressful. For Bella it had technically been like seven and a half weeks worth of time in order to catch up to her schedule again, but she'd finally done it. After all of that time, she'd caught up and was on even ground with everyone else once again!

And just in time for Moody's mad decision to put them all under the Imperius curse because for some reason he really wanted them all to know what to expect. In a way she could understand his insistence but she didn't trust the dude and didn't want him casting anything on her. Ever. If she could help it.

Unfortunately she had a good reputation as a not-trouble maker and didn't want to ruin that by throwing a tanty when there was literally no obvious reason to. This wasn't like Lockhart where Moody was being a pedophile in the corridors without giving a damn. He was known to be an eccentric person so people just brushed it off as him being paranoid and weird after so many years as an Auror nearly getting killed by criminals.

"Sir, you told us casting any of these would send us to Azkaban," Hermione pointed out once they learned the class' objective that day. "Wouldn't you get into trouble for this?"

Both of Moody's eyes locked onto Hermione's position eerily. "Special permission from the Ministry, Granger. And furthermore, if in times of crisis, the Head Auror can grant permission to the populace to cast it but only if it's necessary in the particular situation. It was a favourite during the war on both sides. Nearly everyone was using it."

And that shut up any protest immediately. That was also a piece of information not spread around for some reason? Was a quick and painless death really so bad then if anyone was allowed to use it when things got a little hairy?

The students looked between each other in obvious discomfort, but waited quietly for him to call each one up to have their own experience.

"Nott!"

Bella winced as Theo stood calmly. Even if his face was a lot more pale than usual, he was the perfect mask of ease. She didn't like it.

" **Imperio**!"

* * *

The Nott boy was difficult to control, Barty had to admit. Whatever exposure he'd gotten from his mad grandfather had prepared him for this. He refused to jump onto the desk. He shook his head when told to climb the staircase to Barty's office. And he resisted the urge to sing  **Do the Hippogriff**  in a falsetto.

" _That_!" he growled at the students once the curse was released. Nott looked to be tired and his face was sweating profusely, but he'd done it. He'd resisted the curse amazingly and Barty would give praise where it was due. "You are aiming to do  _that_! He struggled to fight it off, but he managed it! You want to do the same thing! Ignore that voice in your head! Brown! Up here!"

The girl from Gryffindor had no chance. She ended up crawling all over the room, acting like a squirrel and trying to steal quills from her classmates. He only released her once she was dead center in the Slytherin side of the room and on top of the Malfoy boy's desk.

Her mortification was amusing and would probably teach her to stop writing him love notes while Barty was in the middle of teaching. he was not above teaching harsh lessons and embarrassing them terribly if it got the job done.

He cycled through the students at a rapid pace.

Granger avoided the beguiling power of the curse for nine seconds, but eventually caved into squawking like a chicken. Still, the effort was admirable and he told her so.

Patil sang an aria. Badly. She did not have a voice meant for singing and now everyone else knew it.

Malfoy was ridiculously easy to manipulate. Lucius had done poorly with his offspring. The blond was made to declare his true feelings for the person he admired most, and ended up confessing his never-ending love for Belladonna Potter, who merely stared him down with an unimpressed gaze and did in no way look concerned.

The blond's red face was buried in his arms for the rest of the class period.

He then focused on Arthur Weasley's youngest boy, who too was very easy to control. When the boy came to, his hand was in the spider jar and he screamed and fainted. Barty revived him easily, but it was a good laugh.

Next came Prunella Potter, the false Girl-Who-Lived who spent her entire childhood taking credit for something she didn't even do. The one his Lord absolutely despised and wanted to suffer for her insolence.

" **Imperio**."

The girl's frowning face didn't twist into the relieved or calm expression some showed. Instead, her mouth twisted into an even deeper frown and his orders for her to jump on his desk bombarded her from every angle.

"No," she said forcefully, out loud.

The room stared in bafflement as she turned right around and rejoined her Weasley friend. Even Barty was astounded and maybe a little impressed because he'd been informed that she had no skills in anything at all. That she was mediocre. But she just shrugged off the Imperius, from an experienced Death Eater no less, like it was nothing!

" _How_?" Weasley demanded, voice still cracking from his debilitating fear of spiders.

She shrugged. "I haven't been happy lately and the sudden happiness that tried to overcome me was obviously fake."

Her Slytherin twin snorted. "Serotonin? In this economy?" Only her friend Granger and the Thomas boy from Gryffindor seemed to understand the joke as they were the only ones to laugh quietly with her.

And because he could, Barty called the  _real_  Girl-Who-Lived up next because he was so curious to see what she was capable of. Oh she whose work ethic was better than her sister's. Oh she who was more dedicated to her muggle job than her magical learning.

She stood before him expectantly, her shoulders slightly stiff with anticipation and mild distrust.

" **Imperio**!"

He wanted her to jump on the desk, like he'd told her twin.

The girl's head tilted greatly to the side and then her gaze trailed to the left as if she was looking at someone who wasn't there. He enforced the order again, and her gaze flickered to the right and then back to the left almost too quick to notice.

He tried one more time, and this was where it became… concerning?

Her eyes were unique. From what his Lord had told him, it was because of her shooting the Killing Curse out of them on the fateful night over a decade ago. Her eyes had been more dull in colour until that moment, and they shined unnaturally now.

But in  _this_  moment, they were not green. And it had been only for a moment, but Barty was certain he'd seen them flash red. Red with slitted pupils. Like his Lord's eyes used to be.

He'd been told the girl was necessary for the ritual but he hadn't understood why until now. There was some kind of connection between her and the Dark Lord. The flashing eyes simply made it more obvious.

In the end, she avoided the Imperius, but she was the only one who looked as if she was going through a literal internal war during the whole process. As if she was listening to two people scream at one another and she was forced between them, to watch. She clutched her chest as she returned to her seat, and Barty had much to think about and much to tell his Lord.

* * *

The voice in her head talked for the first time outside her many attempts at reading. It used to be the droning whenever Bella read something in order to interfere with her attempts at learning. But for the first time she'd heard it when it  _wasn't_  sounding like an old man who needed to bite the bullet ASAP.

It was gruff in a sense and still carried that aged quality to it. Certainly not the voice of a young man. Voldemort was like seventy-five when he attacked the Potter family that night, which put him right on the edge of middle-age for a wizard. So he wouldn't have a youthful voice obviously.

It was just so strange to consider. The Horcrux hadn't spoken to her directly. It had spoken to the other voice. The smooth and calm one that had sounded so pleasant to the ear as it told her to jump up onto the desk. And when it had appeared and things had gone a bit fuzzy up top, the Voldemort soul piece acted up and screamed with an almighty rage she'd never expected.

' _ **GET OUT!**_ ' was what it yelled at the Imperius Curse.

As the impulse to obey the voice grew stronger while the voice grew more insistent, the Horcrux grew more furious to the point of burning the hell out of her scar and making her clutch herself in an attempt to soothe the pain of it. Thankfully the scar was in the center along the sternum so she wasn't groping herself in public, not that she really would have cared all that much in the long run.

The first thing to consider was if she should tell Tom about the situation. Apparently she was immune to the Imperius if she had a voice in her head ticked off over others trying to control her. But was that really a good thing if it had to harm her in order to get what it wanted?

That didn't sound very safe.

As usual this was all Voldemort's fault. If he'd just not been so suckish at killing children this never would have happened. Did he honestly not know any other ways to kill? Was a green light literally all he had at his disposal when he'd been equipped with a weapon since he was eleven?

Just make like Neville's crummy family and drop a kid out a window. Would have been quick and with no chance of backlash on any of them.

The Dark Twat was an embarrassment to Slytherins everywhere.

* * *

Using the Great Hall in the middle of the night when no one was supposed to be awake, was how Bella was practicing in the last days leading up to the arrival of the rival schools. Flitwick was a good chap about it all though. She remembered the first time they went about this and how she had to instruct him on how thick the ice needed to be to be considered safe enough to skate on.

He was a Master at Charms as well as Dueling. He didn't even bat a lash at her instructions and simply followed through. Bella knew it wasn't that easy to just create something. He was mixing Transfiguration and Charms in order to come out with the proper results.

After some trial and error they determined that the Great Hall's candles would not be appropriate for the tone of the performance. Instead, they would only be using the light of the torches flanking every wall around the room, and the flames would be white/blue instead of red.

The ice, which was equally white, would look ethereal in a sense. He also managed to find the proper amount of glitter and shine for it. Not enough to blind her while she was moving, but enough to literally waft off the ice to make it look… wait for it…  _magical_.

Additionally, they had to account for where everyone would be seated while these introductions were happening. Bella ended up suggesting bleachers. Not the ones used in the Quidditch Pitch though. They looked basic as hell and boring. Ones like those at the World Cup Final, which Flitwick had apparently gone to and he understood what she was saying.

The tables would be expanded to fit the new additions to every meal. The Hall had been lengthened and widened already, which she had noted at the arriving feast. The tables would change into long rows of seats for everyone to choose from, the House Banners remaining in place of course so everyone knew where their people were. Once the greetings and stuff were over, Flitwick would enchant the long rows of seats to move back into their original places and the table tops to reappear again.

The demonstration made it look awesome and Bella was ticked she wouldn't be there when the seating changed. She'd be changing back into her normal clothes by that point.

Still, everything was set up and they were just running through some last minute check-overs. Her skates fit correctly. The blades were expertly sharpened recently and Flitwick planned to charm them black for the performance, so they'd be easy to spot against the ice. Her costume, all red flames over black lycra, was as it should be and wasn't too tight anywhere. The skirt brushed her mid-thighs easily. The ice was at the proper thickness. The orchestra Flitwick enchanted memorised the song to perfection.

Everything seemed to be in order.

And yet she was a little nervous. It was a big thing for her. Not the largest group of people she'd ever perform for of course, but this was the magical side. The side that she was still kind of reluctantly a part of. The side that was condescending toward anything related to muggles, even when some people didn't mean to be.

They didn't understand her zeal when it came to figure skating. There were still a lot of murmurings from her Housemates. While unsure of exactly how to deal with her, that didn't stop them from talking to each other about how odd she was. Rarely were there issues in the Common Room these days, but her ears worked perfectly and she knew what was said now and then. Parkinson perpetuated a lot of it to no one's surprise.

Bella wasn't threatened. Parkinson was just a git who was brainwashed by the patriarchy. In her desire to be the most whatever person in Slytherin, she viewed all other people as threats. Especially other girls. She was in a competition by herself though she didn't even realise it, and it was kinda sad if Bella really considered it.

Parkinson was the opposite of Greengrass who seemed to greatly detest her lot in life. Both from wealthy families but Parkinson wanted that whole family thing with Malfoy and having a bajillion children every year for the rest of her fertile years and being a slave to her husband's desires for anything and didn't find it to be an issue. On the other hand, Greengrass wanted to control her own future but knew she wouldn't get to and she hated it.

Bella didn't necessary like either of them. Parkinson was just a sad example with her desire to just be liked by every guy she saw and her incessant ' _pick me pick me pick me_!' attitude. Greengrass was just sad entirely. Bella didn't hate them though. They were pitiful in different ways.

How in the hell did Bella get into this line of thought in the first place? She'd been thinking about skating and suddenly started waxing philosophically on the ingrained attitudes of her Housemates!

This was what happened to Bella! Her mind wandered and she could not keep her attention on one thing for too long outside of physically skating! God above, she was a damn mess.

"Ms. Potter, do you think you're ready?" Professor Flitwick asked, startling her from her thoughts.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's all good. How do you feel when you watch the routine though?"

"Amazed," the old wizard confessed. "I could never do anything like that. I don't even know anyone who could accomplish anything similar. Even without the added sparkles and eerie glow it still looks magical in its own way. You make it look easy and yet I know just jumping in place is difficult. I've actually been almost brought to tears by it."

Wow. That was more than she was expecting, but it was nice to hear. If she could move people that much already, she could only hope to get even better as time went on. Aaliyah would be so proud to hear that her Interpretation was improving!

Now all she had to do was convey the same emotion in her personally choreographed performances.

"Thanks, sir."

* * *

It had been years since Tom had laid eyes upon Hogwarts in person. When the old ship Durmstrang was using as transport, breached the surface of the Black Lake, he felt like he was home. One thing Tom had always been talented at was sensing magic and he could  _feel_  the wards of Hogwarts allowing them through, and it felt like comfort.

The ship they were using was one of many from Durmstrang, yet it was the most intimidating one of all. All to put on airs in front of the other schools of course, so why not arrive in something that looked dark and ghostly and made them seem intimidating and powerful?

Essentially, the ship was massive and black, with an almost skeletal design to it. The lights on the inside, against the darkness outside, would surely make it look haunted, as the effect it was supposed to have. Sometimes Tom was astounded to remember that magical people knew how to sail still since they always whinged about it being a muggle thing and muggles being barbarians or some such rubbish.

Looking out the window, he could see the castle and it's glory. The Great Hall was visible from where the ship was anchoring itself, and the lights from within gave it a warm sort of air. It reminded him of the first time he'd ever ridden a little wooden boat across the lake in his First Year, and how magnificent the building had looked against the night sky with the moon framing it from behind.

Karkaroff cleared his throat and called for them all to form a line.

The ship was special, capable of fitting more than it appeared it could. They'd brought along every student from age sixteen and up to ensure the best possible choice for the Durmstrang Champion. They had one hundred and ninety-seven students in total on board, ready to prove the greatness of the school against Hogwarts' stunning reputation. And also to intimidate the other students as well.

Tom felt no such loyalty to the Institute, he just wanted the award money and to build a name for himself so he could exact his plans more easily. Admiration was easy to use against people.

They disembarked in an orderly fashion, with Tom and Krum right behind Karkaroff and his posturing swagger. They were the favourites in a sense.

As they moved to the shore, a gargantuan, powder-blue and gold carriage descended from the East and landed solidly in front of the castle. The massive, elephant-sized Abraxans pulling it stomped their hooves and neighed loudly for attention. Their red eyes were ominous in the growing darkness of the twilight sky.

Beauxbatons had also arrived, and from their house-sized carriage stepped their Headmistress. A Half-Giantess by the name of Olympe Maxime. Unlike Hagrid however, she exuded class and style and put effort into her appearance. She also looked to be someone to avoid getting into an argument with.

The French students exited the carriage just as orderly as the Durmstrang students. Their numbers were less, but not by much. At least one hundred and fifty students in total had come along.

Hogwarts was housing close to three hundred extra people this year. Oh how amusing this would be to see them all attempt to mingle.

A tall woman with a sharp face and black hair pulled back in a severe bun, greeted them. Her boxed spectacles glistened in the torchlight of the castle and her emerald robes almost blended into the darkness. Beside her stood a man bedecked in black only, with a sallow face and shoulder-length black hair. His hooked nose and beady black eyes made him look distrustful.

The woman stepped forward. "I'm Headmistress and Transfiguration Master Minerva McGonagall and this is my Deputy Head, Potions Master Severus Snape. We formally welcome you to our school."

"Hn," Snape echoed.

Bella had told him about them both. He probably should have realised it sooner.

Karkaroff, for once being a gentleman, allowed Maxime to greet the two first.

"'ello 'eadmistress McGoneegall," the Frenchwoman said with somewhat exaggerated slowness and poor pronunciation. "I wished to enquire about my 'orses and ze care zey will be given before we go inside."

"Not to worry, our Gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Rubeus Hagrid, will be taking over their care. He loves animals."

Not  _him_! Why?

Maxime raised a considering brow. "Zey only drink single-malt whiskey."

"Noted."

Karkaroff was a lot more unctuous in his greeting and Tom could tell that Snape did not approve. The glower the man leveled Karkaroff with was enough to make the Highmaster unnerved, but not enough to ruin the atmosphere. McGonagall seemed in no way fooled.

"The entrance ceremony will begin momentarily if you will follow us," said McGonagall. "You may sit anywhere of course. The castle has been expanded to fit an even larger number of guests and classrooms have been set up for your students."

They were lead in through the Entrance Hall where Tom spotted the Founders Portraits for a moment, and up to the double doors of the Great Hall, which split apart right before they came upon them, revealing a wide, open space prepared ahead of time and seating stretching up the sides of the room with empty pockets on the far ends for the visitors to sit in.

It was like the Colosseum in Rome in a way. There were banners everywhere to show where the individual Hogwarts Houses were normally seated, plus a single inclusive one at the far end above the staff table where all new faces sat. Only a single person from his school years had remained and that was Dumbledore. At least Slughorn wasn't there, that was a blessing in disguise. That man was an annoyance of a different sort compared to Dumbledore.

The groups split up once inside. The Durmstrang students took the Slytherin/Ravenclaw side of the seats on the left, and the Beauxbatons students took the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff side of the seats on the right.

McGonagall strode to the direct center of the room and raised her hands. "Tradition dictates that the schools introduce themselves in alphabetical order. I welcome the students of Beauxbatons to the TriWizard Tournament Entrance Ceremony!"

Maxime and McGonagall traded places as her students stood once more and took positions for what looked to be a waltz. The Half-Giantess' wand lifted, and music coming from nowhere in particular, sounded throughout the room.

The couples and their silken blue outfits, straightened up and began twirling around in time with the music that gave visions of Spring and flowers oddly enough. He didn't know the name of the song, but he did recognise it somewhat. Tchaikovsky he was certain. A muggle composer oddly enough. Magicals sure loved using muggle music despite how lowly they spoke of muggles.

There were choreographed spins and with each spin, white butterflies would drift off the silk and float above their heads. Spin, spin, spin, lift. Spin, spin, spin, lift. The couples were mismatched with always one half being tall and the other half being short. The short ones were always lifted though and in passing, Tom noted a short, blond wizard being spun and then lifted by a beautiful, blonde witch.

A certain grace to the movements made it an appealing performance, and the butterflies gathering overhead formed the word  **Beauxbatons**  that rotated so the entire hall may see it.

Madame Maxime conducted them and the music through the dance, until it concluded with a big finish of dozens of unified dips, all with the tallest partners bent backwards toward the floor.

The hall broke into a smattering of applause. It was a lovely performance after all. Tom had never been personally interested in dancing, but even he could see beauty in its various forms.

Once those in blue evacuated the floor, the Durmstrang students in their bulky furs and red suits took their place at Karkaroff's demand.

Their entrance was nowhere near as sweet and gentle as the French students had been.

It consisted of most of the students forming a large oval and stomping out a different beat. Most sixteen year olds stomped one beat, most seventeen year olds stomped another beat, and the same for most of the eighteen year olds with their own beat. The three then blended together with magical chanting from each of them, while the best magical practitioners of each year created a fiery dragon from the center of the building magic and manipulated it to soar around the hall.

In the end, the dragon exploded into a shower of red at the foot of the Head Table, and it was Tom's duty to make certain the result was a swarm of fire Phoenixes that followed it up by exploding into the name  **Durmstrang**. It basically ended up looking like a fanciful Flagrate.

More applause followed them to their seats and Tom smirked to himself. He actually liked showing off. It would always be a weakness of his. So long as he wasn't obvious about it, others wouldn't be able to capitalise on it.

Hogwarts' Half-Goblin professor, Filius Flitwick, stepped down from the Head Table and raised his wand. The candles floating above their heads went out and the torches lining the walls lit up with white flames outlined in blue, which gave the room an eerie sort of glow.

At once, a wall of stone that would probably reach his waist, rose from the stone floor, blocking off the stands. The space inside, turned white like ice instantly and in the direct center showed the Hogwarts crest.

Their attention moved toward the Head Table where a lone figure stepped forward, clad in a black and red, skin-tight dress and black ice skates. And that was when he knew.

This was Bella.

The Half-Goblin summoned an orchestra's worth of instruments while Bella removed something from her skates and took to the ice. The instruments floated above the Head Table, awaiting instruction.

As for Bella, she pushed herself onward, rounding the wall and twisting from back to front quickly, stopping directly in the center with her right arm held out and her left folded toward her chest.

Flitwick's wand moved, and the magic began **[[1](https://youtu.be/0bYtM0vmtkM?list=FLuPHC6YThL1eE3oUUtHgWpA)]**.

* * *

It was all about expression. Graceful movements of the hands and arms in order for the viewers to understand the feel of the song. This wasn't rough and harsh. This was a dark and dramatic song basically and it wasn't meant to make the audience joyful but rather a bit anxious and curious despite themselves. Maybe even sad at the end.

Pushing and building up speed with her skates was a necessity. Yuna Kim was known for speed which was how she pulled off her jumps so well. Bella needed to channel that same speed because the routine started off with a Triple-Triple jump. One of her favourites actually.

Round the edge of the rink, pushing more and more to gain that necessary speed.

Long glide, half turn, and… Triple Flip-Triple Toe. Arms close to the body and a clean landing too, which she was glad for. Aaliyah would be so proud.

Following that up was a fan spiral that Bella may have improved upon because she was more limber than Yuna Kim had been in 2007. Her left leg could rise all the way up and hold the position as she glided backward. She was then capable of bringing it down at the same speed, like the opening and closing of a hand fan.

Another chance to round the side and build up enough speed for a Arabesque to Biellmann spiral with one hand reaching back to hold up her free leg as she glided. Spirals were always so nice and gave those few seconds of time for a break.

Flying sit spin. Step sequence. Triple Lutz. Twizzles. Footwork of at least a Level 3 in order to be acceptable.

A layback spin, followed by a layback Ina Bauer, into a Spread Eagle, into a Triple Axel. Bella changed it from the Double that Yuna had originally done because she was adventurous and refused to downgrade a program if she didn't have to. Bella  _could_  do Triples, so Bella was doing them. The jump was always a risk because of how it was executed compared to other jumps.

Finally, a combination spin that ended with an I spin which was Yuna's favourite ending to a routine in recent years.

When Bella stopped, her breathing was uneven and the crowd was applauding much more loudly than any she'd ever performed for before.

With a smile, she took a bow toward the left side of the room, then turned and bowed toward the right side of the room. Finally, she bowed to the professors and smiled as Flitwick conjured a bouquet of red roses for her.

"Well done, Ms. Potter!" the man said, his beard wiggling with his excitement. And she could see just the smallest bit of glistening in his eyes and knew she'd done her job.

It felt good to finally let others see what she worked so hard for. She was proud.

Sirius and Remus wasted no time in pulling her into a hug once her guards were back on her blades.

"That was great, Bells!"

"I haven't seen something that physically impressive in years."

* * *

"Your sister does that for a living," Ron breathed in awe as Bella stepped out of the room through the back entrance. "She's mad. Did you see all that jumping she did on skates of all things! And they weren't made of ice or enchanted to be strong like ours are."

"Muggles wouldn't consider those to be safe though," Prue pointed out, still a bit preoccupied with what she'd just seen.

Ron snorted. "You mean like those rollycoaters we went on for your party at her house and how they moved faster than brooms do with only a metal bar to keep us in our seats?"

He had a point.

Bella's sport was… dangerous. It looked super dangerous. Like she was forcing herself to go through such speeds on her own. It was her own body pushing her forward, not a charmed piece of wood that could be stopped if you simply pulled up on it. She obtained that level of speed on her own and that meant she had to train physically, all the time. But she didn't have the luxury of pulling up and just stopping altogether, she actually had to let the speed die down on its own.

Prue was not the best runner and she knew who tiring it could become to run for too long. Bella ran every single day, and she had just did something like that, but even worse, on solid ice. And jumped into the air to spin several times, while moving at those speeds. It didn't look like there was a guarantee that she'd land safely every time either.

Figure skating was terrifying and Prue was glad the most magical people did was glide a little and spin a bit just for laughs. They'd get hurt if they tried to do what Bella had just done.

"Is this how she feels when we obsess over Quidditch?" Ron asked after a minute of silence while waiting for the tables to change back to normal.

"Probably."

Prue finally got it.

What were the odds that the both of them would decide to dedicate their futures to a sport of intense difficulty in different areas? Despite how they looked nothing alike nowadays, they seemed to truly be twins even down to the inspirations and love for their sports.

* * *

As the feast began like it was normally supposed to, the students began mingling. Some moved to other tables entirely, which was how Neville and Luna came to join the Slytherins where some seats had been saved for them. There was an empty space remaining between Hermione and Blaise however, so Bella would have somewhere when she returned.

The whole group was just in quiet awe. They'd all gotten to see Bella train at her rink at least once, but never in full costume, never with music, and never in such an intense setting before. All of it rolled into one made for a very special performance.

"She did it perfectly," Hermione had murmured to them when it had finished. "If this was a competition she wouldn't receive any deductions. She might even get extra points for her jumps. It was flawless."

"It was beautiful," Luna sighed almost wistfully. "I wish we had something like that in our world. Quidditch gets a bit dull after a while."

"She trains every single day to be able to pull that off for the next decade or so," said Theo, his voice breathy. "It's obvious to understand why she's a Slytherin. She has to keep her body in peak physical condition always in order to continue doing that. It's not like an instrument where you don't really forget how to play even after a dry spell. Only the truly dedicated would bother keeping up with something like that."

Hermione nodded. "And to think she isn't even the greatest skater in the world right now. There are people so much better than her and she's aiming to best them all some day."

The capability of their friend was enough to make Hermione emotional to an extent. It was just nice to see Bella doing what she loved and practically thriving at it.

"And here she comes," Neville noted, staring at the doors to the Great Hall. "How do you make the rose wreath again?"

* * *

Tom noticed immediately when Bella reentered the room. He'd been paying close attention to everyone seated at the Slytherin Table and had been patiently waiting for her to reappear so he could finally speak with her in person for the first time.

After that performance, he'd been a little speechless. He'd seen people ice skating on the lake back when he'd attended Hogwarts. They never did anything like what Bella did though. He was certain no one had even considered doing those kinds of stunts on the ice. She was like a breath of fresh air compared to the set-in-your-ways attitude most magical people lived with. Bella represented change and if things went well, it was be of the positive sort.

When she slid into the room without making a sound, and joined her friends who conjured a magical wreath for her as a congratulatory gift for her hard work, Tom took the chance to approach her finally. She'd let her hair down from the tight bun it had been in while skating, and she was wearing an unfamiliar type of blue trousers and a green jumper under her school robes.

Her dark head whipped around upon hearing him draw nearer, her plait smacking her brunette friend in the face in the process. Bella's green eyes - greener than he'd even imagined they'd be - looked him up and down slowly before the teen's thin brows raised and she nodded to herself in a way which he was  _not_  unfamiliar. " _Hi_ ," she said slowly and simply when he was close enough. As if cautious about speaking with him.

Tom settled for a low and relatively private, "Hello, dear Bella."

It took only a few seconds, but her appraising gaze turned excited as she slipped off the bench to throw her arms around him with an exclamation of, "Oh my God, Tom!" And she squeezed harder than one would expect from a girl of her size.

He should have expected an embrace considering what he knew about her, but Tom was still shocked while it was happening. He wasn't used to being hugged. In fact… he'd never been hugged because he'd never had anyone who would  _want_  to show that kind of affection to him. Tom never had anyone to begin with.

It was awkward in a sense. He felt exposed with Bella's warmth pressed against his front and his sides open to physical contact from others at present. Tom was all stiff in the shoulders, unsure of what to do.

She drew back and grinned up at him, showing emotion he'd never seen directed his way before. She was also about sixteen centimeters shorter than he was. "The fuck, dude? You're this hot and you didn't tell me?"

And somehow her crass slang made him feel at ease instantly. He was also amused because of course Bella would be like this in person too. She wasn't the kind to pretend to be something she wasn't in an attempt to appear ' _cooler_ '. Who he'd been writing to was really who she was and that was the biggest relief of all.

"I didn't think it mattered," he confessed.

Bella's brows drew together even as one quirked upward in disbelief. Her entire head tilted down so she was looking up at him through her lashes, and the mouth was pressed in a flat line that just projected how unimpressed she was with his lie. She knew him so very well, it was astonishing. He  _should_  be scared by that fact. But he wasn't.

He smiled charmingly instead. "I didn't think it mattered _in our friendship_ ," he amended. It was true after all. Bella didn't seem like a superficial individual.

She seemed to accept that, and turned back to her little group of minions. "Guys, this is my friend Tom. I've known him since mid-way through our First year here. We've been writing to each other nonstop."

He nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Bella talks of you very fondly."

"She never talks about  _you_ ," the darkest boy of the lot stated bluntly, a heavy frown on his angular face. Already, Tom could sense his dislike, but it was geared more toward distrust of an unknown, than senseless hatred or jealousy.

"Oh yes! She was doing me a favour. We didn't want Xenophon knowing his secret got out." He then sent the rest of them a pleasant smile as they all stiffened in understanding because of course Bella would end up telling them about her involvement in his death. He'd expect no less from her.

Bella smacked his arm not so gently, her face set to an amused smirk. "Don't use scare tactics on my friends," she chided lightly. "They aren't some common minions to fuck with."

"Apologies, dearest."

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **[[1](https://youtu.be/0bYtM0vmtkM?list=FLuPHC6YThL1eE3oUUtHgWpA)]** Yuna Kim's 2007 Short Program.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Champions are Chosen and no one is Happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The time-traveling is becoming a bit a more stressful for me as well as a  
> few characters.
> 
> -Drama.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Are you absolutely certain that you wish to go through with this?" the Doctor asked, looking incredibly grave. "It's only succeeded once before and there is no guarantee it will succeed for you."

Lily nodded. She'd never been more sure of anything in her life. "I have full faith that everything will work out just fine for me. I've always had great health. I've never been sick a day in my life and have always recovered from injuries very quickly. I'll be fine. I'm certain I will adjust to this new development without any additional complications."

"It might not take though," the doctor continued in warning. "You have the same blood type of course, and neither have allergies, diseases, or any imperfections to get in the way of the surgery, but we cannot promise things will work. You could be putting yourself in danger. You need to accept that there is a massive chance for things to go south and we will need stop at some point."

"And I have faith that it won't be necessary," Lily insisted with finality. "I'm ready for this." Had been after giving it so much consideration.

After everything that had happened to her in recent years, Lily had to go about things differently.

Muggles had come a long way with science. She hadn't been keeping up to date after going to the magical side because there had been no need for her to care, but after being rendered homeless but those spoiled brats she was forced to call daughters, Lily had to return to her roots in order to get the help she needed.

Tuney was in prison so there was no way to get her help. Their parents were dead for years and Lily was forced to realise that she hadn't been there for them and maybe if she'd kept contact then they would have been alive still and could have helped her in her time of need. They'd always given her whatever she wanted and preferred her over Tuney anyway. Lily had to find  _other_  means of survival, which included Confunding a muggle family into giving her the extra room in their attic and turning it into her own living quarters that she magically expanded with Runes and Charms in her free time.

After that it was the sneaking around with magic to get clothes and food for herself while she acquainted herself with the muggle side and the advancements they'd made ever since the seventies. And they'd made many that had left her gaping in shock.

Specifically health-related advancements that at one time seemed impossible.

And that was when Lily learned about this procedure she'd cleverly worked her way into _(using magic of course, because she couldn't actually pay for it)_. One that very well could save her arse and bring her back to her former glory on the magical side. All she'd needed to do was research enough to understand what would happen, and then find someone who could do.

Somebody obviously of a Dark nature had placed a curse upon her so she wouldn't be able to have children. Specifically, her uterus. It was dead. Incapable of doing the job it was created for. But the area  _around it_  was perfectly healthy and still worked apparently. Nothing else was cursed. It was a very target-based kind of thing and there was only one way to be rid of it.

Muggles had come up with Uterine Transplants and a muggle had managed to have a child in such a manner even if it was done by Cesarean Section.

Lily was about to remove the Dark Curse from her body completely and start anew. Something Magicals would never consider because they didn't cut into people like muggles did.

And once she had a new uterus, she knew exactly who to go after in order to finally have that child she needed to regain control of the Gaunt line at the very least. Lily Evans did not stay down for very long and she was going to prove it! To regain Gaunt Ladyship, she needed to have a child before she turned sixty, and providing one before either Belladonna or Prue did, would give her a sturdy leg to stand on in order to challenge Belladonna for her position in the family again.

"I'm ready for the surgery."

* * *

Albus stared at the blue flames in contemplation. It was a serious thing, the Goblet. Despite the age restrictions the Ministries had agreed to place on the Tournament, the Goblet recognised no such thing because it had been created with a single purpose in mind and that purpose could not be changed. Anyone could essentially enter and possibly be selected. They didn't have to be students either. His Age Line was supposed to keep all who were below the age of sixteen, from possibly stepping through and entering a name, but for the most part, anyone from anywhere could enter, so long as they entered their name under a specific school.

There were loopholes and he knew some would find them. Who was he to hold them back if they were intuitive enough to make their way around such things? And if any were chosen when they shouldn't have been, being in the tourney would be a lesson to them to not go against Ministry-regulated restrictions ever again. There was a lesson to every situation and that was why he left things as they were.

He too was planning on making use of a loophole because he had to be absolutely sure that everything was going as it should. More information for proof later on.

It was for the greater good, he reasoned with himself. If this plan fell through, then he still have the Longbottom boy to depend on. He'd already been receiving training of his own and his schoolwork had improved greatly since his First Year. Wandwork and general assignments. Severus no longer complained about his performance in Potions even!

Albus was only one man. He couldn't do it all alone. Prue was proving to be useless, but she wouldn't get to remain lazy any longer.

One last chance to prove what worth she possessed before he gave up completely.

* * *

"I can't wait to go to sleep," Bella grumbled as she stepped out of the Floo and into Sirius' office. "We worked really hard today and I've been lagging irl since we had dinner."

"Are you okay?" Remus asked, since he was the one there to greet her. He reached up to feel her forehead, obviously checking for a fever that she wouldn't have because Bella had never gotten a cold in her life.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." It was nice that he was concerned though. It was nice to know that people cared about your well being. "I'm going to shower and then sleep for ten hours after I jump back."

"Good luck and be careful."

It was while she was sneaking past the Great Hall which was currently taking dinner, that she ended up running into someone for the very first time since doing this whole Time-Travel thing. But at least it was Tom and not someone else. She coudl trust Tom to keep a secret. Though to be perfectly honest, did he even have anyone else he could tell?

"Hello, Bella. On your way to dinner?" he asked, a smirk spreading across his very handsome features. He was even hotter than Cedric Diggory if it was possible. And even his voice was nice too. Why was that allowed? He was one guy and he got the looks, the brains,  _and_  the magical talent all at once. Was the universe trying to make up for giving him a crappy origin tale?

"I'm actually on my way to bed," she told him as they walked because yes, he was following her now instead of going to eat. "I'm going to step inside a nearby classroom specifically meant for my use only, and when I walk out it'll be 8 AM for me again."

"That is the schedule you're using every day?"

"Yep! Don't worry, I'm certain you'll be catching up with me in no time!"

She patted his shoulder companionably and then slipped into an empty classroom on the ground floor that McGonagall had told her she could use alone for this purpose. It was spelled to only allow her in and out and no one else, just to be safe. No one would question it since the unused classrooms remained unused and no one could get in them anyway. It was done in order to dissuade students from snogging or doing the horizontal tango. For the most part it was successful, and forced them to find broom cupboards instead, which got them caught all the time.

Pulling out the Time Turner, Bella turned it back twelve times and allowed herself to be whisked away in the swirling colours of time. She couldn't wait for sleep. She'd shower once she woke up because she was practically dead on her feet at present.

Of course when she slipped from the classroom, she found herself surrounded by the usual rush of the students and no one noticed the new person in the corridor because they were all on their way to breakfast and too busy with their own lives to care. Meanwhile, Bella was on her way to her sweet, sweet bed!

"Wait! Potter!"

She looked around, unfamiliar with the voice that was calling out to her.

A blond boy in Gryffindor robes was running toward her, a massive camera hanging from his neck. He looked like a rushed mouse. "My name is Colin Creevey and I'm really interested in Wizarding Photography. I took several photos of your performance last night and I thought you'd like some copies! They came out perfectly."

He held out a small stack of black and white moving photos, all of Bella skating to Yuna Kim's routine. One of her free gliding, one of her Triple Axel, one of her Triple-Triple, and one of her fan spiral. They were really clear too and each held about five seconds of movement.

In fact, magical photos were like gifs, she realised. A few seconds of movement and then a reset. Magicals basically developed gifs first, holy shite.

"Thanks, Colin. They're very nice. What are you going to do with the others?" Since he apparently made copies and hadn't mentioned his plans for those.

The boy flushed and seemed hesitant to answer. "There's someone in seventh year who's actually a really big fan of you and offered me some Galleons for the photos."

Bella had a feeling she knew who it was and said, "I'm fine with you selling photos of me, just make sure that you ask other people before ever agreeing to sell photos of them, okay?"

Colin sighed in relief and beamed. "Okay! Thank you!" He rushed off toward the Great Hall, leaving Bella to stare down at her new photos in slight awe. She'd put them up in her room at home and give one to Aaliyah and Deborah for their room. It was nice of him to think of giving her some copies while he'd been developing them.

She'd had such a nice day!

And it would be even better when she slept finally.

* * *

Tom stared at the door for several moments, processing just what he'd learned. She hadn't told him exactly what she was doing, but from just this, he was able to put a lot of things into perspective now. She was going to the muggle world and then coming back and Time-Traveling back in time however many times a day to see  _all_  of her commitments done.

He turned back for the Great Hall, unable to stop the feeling of admiration welling up inside. Bella truly was dedicated. He felt everyone could learn a lesson from her level of ambition and hard work. Even him. She really could have been either a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin. Or, as she had decided to call it, a Slytherpuff.

When he stepped into the Great Hall in order to partake in the Hallowe'en Feast, his eyes landed on Bella's face almost immediately. It was hard to miss her in the crowd actually. She was seated with her friends in their particular section of the Slytherin Table, talking animatedly with Luna Lovegood about something and her expression was of open interest and enjoyment.

When she'd told him they'd  _'be catching up in no time'_  he hadn't thought she meant so soon. But of course if she'd Time-Traveled back to the morning however many times she felt was necessary, then she had to at least be in two places at once. So the Bella in front of him had lived out a day both in the muggle world and in the magical world, doing skating and classes and studying to get to this point.

"Hey, Tom!" she said in greeting when he got close enough to her crew. Her grin was damn near infectious and her teeth were whiter than any white he'd ever seen. "I feel like I only talked to you a minute ago, dude."

He smiled, unable to help himself because she was being playful and it  _was_  a little funny, he would give her that. "I know. I could have sworn I just saw you in the corridor."

She shook her head teasingly. "That was like twenty-four hours ago, dude. Keep up with the times." That was a long time for her to see him last.

"Please don't start using puns." He wasn't in the mood to deal with that brand of humour from her. He had classmates who liked puns and they were terrible at utilising them in English. While Bella would do better certainly, he just didn't have the patience at present.

"You know me so well!" She patted the free space on her left side and he took it because why not? He had no one at Durmstrang he wanted to deal with at the moment, and it unnerved Karkaroff that Tom had gotten on so well with someone he 'didn't know'. "We're waiting for the annual dramatics at the Hallowe'en Feast. Something happens every year and I'm hoping it's nothing crappy like last year."

" _Bella_!" Hermione Granger hisses in offense. "Sir Nicholas' story is a very important one to the school!"

The younger girl shrugged and said in a completely apathetic tone, "It's boring though. Dude's head was being hacked off and he tried using magic to heal himself while it was happening, which just prolonged the suffering because it took dozens of chops to finally kill him. And the reenactment wasn't a pleasant sight to see either."

Ah! They were still doing those. That particular tale had been told during Tom's First Year at Hogwarts. It was a recycled bit done to unnerve the children every decade or so. Thank Merlin they were trying to find new entertainment these days. It got old repeating history so much without changing the angle.

Luna Lovegood hummed, her voice airy and light. "I think you'll like this year's entertainment. It's been done before but you liked it so you won't mind seeing it again."

Bella's head whipped around, causing her hair to smack Tom in the face in the process. At least it was clean and smelled of… flowers? It smelled like he'd just walked into a flower shop and was assaulted by every scent at once. But it was nice instead of overbearing like perfumes tended to be. Bella didn't wear perfume, and her choice of shampoo explained why very easily.

"Are they doing the Double Trouble thing?"

The blonde girl merely hummed and looked toward the Head Table where several students were gathering, holding up massive, magical frogs. The Frog Choir was still alive and well even in this age.

Bella's hands clapped together at a speed his eyes couldn't keep up with, but he could tell she was excited. It was a good emotion on her. More interesting to witness in person than through the pages of a book.

"It's great! Flitwick's a genius composer, trust me!" she told him, pushing on his shoulder so he'd give the choir his full attention. "He knew what he was doing when he decided to mess around with Macbeth! Actually made it seem interesting!"

And the performance began.

Thank Circe above it wasn't the Hogwarts School Song. He hated that ridiculous song with everything in him. He hated it more than he hated Dumbledore, which meant his hatred burned even more fiercely. It was just so juvenile and singing it would have earned no respect from the visiting schools.

Bella's taste in music seemed decent at least.

* * *

The Goblet of Fire had remained in the Great Hall all night, open for anyone eligible to enter their names in it. The blue flames had flashed heavily for hours and would pulse every time a name was entered. As if it was already judging them.

Fred and George Weasley had entered without hesitation, their hearts set on the prize money for their future shop. Many of their fellow Gryffindors had gone for it too because they wanted fame and fortune. A lot of Hufflepuffs had also entered, as well as Ravenclaws.

Slytherin however, didn't bother as much. A few Seventh Year students decided to go for it, but for the most part, none of them seemed interested in it. The chances of there being a Slytherin Champion were slim to none at this rate, but it wasn't like that was such a bad thing. The tourney was dangerous as hell after all and people died in all the past competitions. A Slytheirn wouldn't enter unless absolutely certain they would win without a problem. Hence why Tom was entering.

The Headmistress stood alongside Batman. To their left were Karkaroff and Maxime, and to their right were two guys from the Ministry who dealt with Magical Games and Sports. Bella hadn't paid enough attention to get their full names. Everyone but the dude in the bowler hat seemed to very invested in what was about to go down though.

The Goblet had been placed in front of the staff's table in preparation. McGonagall held up a golden pocket-watch and nodded to herself. "The selection will begin momentarily."

A hush fell over the room as anticipation grew. Bella just wanted to go and sleep.

"When your name is called, you will come up here and proceed through the door behind the Head Table, in order to receive further instructions on your place in the Tournament and what will be expected of you."

The candles and torches were extinguished when Mickey G. lifted her hand toward the Goblet, allowing only the flames in the Goblet to light the room. Once again, that eerie feeling was back.

All at once, the fire turned red and a stream of flames exploded outward, curling and twisting over their heads. McGonagall plucked a piece of ripped parchment out of the air. She adjusted her spectacles and nodded to herself. "The Champion for Durmstrang is Tomas Night."

The Hall broke into applause as Tom stood, sending a smug smile Bella's way because he'd known for months that he'd be chosen and there hadn't been a doubt in his mind. As Tom sauntered past the teachers and officials, Bella saw Dumbledore do a triple take, and she knew he'd recognised Tom easily even if his looks had changed a bit thanks to that ritual he'd done, or so Tom had told her.

That could be a problem if Dumbles decided to interfere like he always did. He looked as terrified as Karkaroff did actually. Obviously for different but similar reasons though. What should be done about that?

The Goblet repeated itself, spitting out another piece of parchment that McGonagall read off easily. "The Champion for Beauxbatons," said the woman, "is Fleur Delacour!" Her pronunciation had been perfect as well.

The delegation from the French school didn't seem as pleased by this choice apparently as they did not clap as heartily as the rest of the gathered students did. Some were even crying, which was ridiculous. It wasn't like the tournament was all that important. Nothing about it was truly appealing in any way so why were they being so dramatic? And why did they not like their Champion?

Fleur disappeared into the antechamber at the back of the room without a comment though and the Goblet went about selecting its final participant in the tourney.

"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!"

A Hufflepuff was representing Hogwarts. At least he had the promise of being a hard-working individual, so Bella could get behind the massive amounts of support and cheering he was receiving. He was also easy on the eyes which was nice. If she was forced to watch the tourney with her friends, then at least there would be something worth watching since all the Champions were fine as hell.

Had Tom not been chosen, Bella wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to the tourney's happenings, but a friend was now involved so of course the decent thing to do would be to watch and support him. And appreciate quietly.

"We have our Champions!" Mickey G. announced. "I do hope you will all be supportive of your school's Champions because it is that support that will help them push through the trials they face in this compe-"

She'd stopped because the Goblet was acting up again, the flames turning red and spitting out another piece of parchment? It was the TriWizard Tournament. Did the Goblet not know that perhaps? It was just a fancy cup and it wasn't like it had thoughts and feelings or anything. Unless it was like Hogwarts or the Sorting Hat and it did.

Whatever. Point was, another name had been chosen when that shouldn't even be possible.

"Belladonna Pandora Potter."

What? The? Fuck?

* * *

Prue's jaw dropped instantly when her twin's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. And from across the Hall, she could clearly see Bella's confusion and annoyance over it. It was very obvious that she hadn't entered herself, especially since she wouldn't have the time to be able to do anything toward the tourney that wouldn't benefit her at all.

Bella's warning about Voldemort back in summer, suddenly made sense. This had to be him. He had to have done something because he knew she was the real Girl Who Lived and he needed her for some kind of ritual so he'd get a body again. The school was full of complete strangers who could at any time have entered her if they were old enough to get past the protections.

Durmstrang's Highmaster was a former Death Eater who only got off because he was a coward and hadn't a shred of loyalty to his name, but who knew if he was still working for Voldy or not? Prue didn't trust him. She didn't trust a lot of people in recent months actually, but it wasn't like she'd been given any reason to just blindly trust people anymore. Not with how life had been going.

The school watched as Granger pushed Bella to join the other Champions. Some people hissed insults at her as she went. Some called her an attention seeker. Many didn't say anything, but their stares didn't tell people anything good about their opinions on the matter.

And just as Bella was stepping into the antechamber at the back of the room, the fire turned red again. Something inside Prue just made her entire being practically sink into her gut. She knew, before McGonagall even read the parchment, what it was going to say. And of course it had to happen like this, right?

Didn't she just get through a scandal and manage to salvage what was left of her reputation on her own? Why this? Why now?

"Prunella Alula Potter."

Merlin damn everything to hell and back!

* * *

"What the fuck?" was Bella's question the moment Prue caught up to her. She doubted the younger girl had an answer but she felt the need to verbalise her confusion anyway.

"Someone entered us. My bet is on Karkaroff. I don't trust him," was Prue's reply as they descended the stone staircase that Bella had literally traversed just last night.

She hummed, not really believing the same thing even if it was perfectly plausible. But she also knew what a coward he was thanks to Tom telling her all about how he'd been fucking with the man's mind. Bella had more context than Prue did.

"Bella?" Tom asked upon noticing them entering the antechamber through the main door. "Do they need us?"

"Turns out we've both been chosen by the flaming chalice of ugliness to compete." It really was ugly too. Looked rusted and nasty. Something to avoiding cutting one's hand on.

The other two Champions looked as baffled as she felt, while Tom's eyes narrowed. He picked up very quickly on what she was thinking. Voldemort was behind it. Somehow he'd gotten her name into the tournament and now she was in danger. She and Prue. This sucked majorly the more she considered it!

Within seconds, the door at the top of the stairs opened and down rushed an entire group of professors all screaming different demands aimed solely at Bella and Prue. As if by instinct, Prue stepped a bit behind Bella and clutched at her robes in obvious concern, searching for protection and security. Prue tended to do that when she didn't know what to do.

"Can either of you explain why your names came out of the Goblet?" McGonagall asked once she was close enough. Her hair was beginning to fall out of its perfect hold and she looked far more stressed than she had in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.

"Nope," Bella replied, which was echoed closely by Prue. She didn't know but she damn well wanted to!

"Zey are obviously lying!" Maxime hissed, batting away a chandelier that was in her face so she could come and impose her height upon them all. "Zey just want ze gold and the fame!"

That got a loud snort from Bella. One that hurt her throat because of the force of it. "With all due respect madam, my trust vault alone has three thousand times the amount of gold this tourney is offering, and I'm on my way to considerable repute on the muggle side, which is all I care about. And Prue is the Girl-Who-Lived, plus her own riches far exceed mine at present. We don't need money  _or_  fame. Besides, who was the last winner of the Tournament anyway?"

No one could answer because no one could remember.

Prue snorted. "Eternal fame my lily-white arse."

"Five points from Gryffindor," was McGonagall's automatic response as she held out the two strips of parchment bearing their names. "You were entered under separate schools and that essentially means you were the only ones available to be chosen for those schools."

"That's a  _thing_?" Bella asked, taking the parchment. "Does the cup of annoyance not know it's only supposed to pick three people?"

"It is Goblin-made and its job is to choose a person from each group mentioned," said McGonagall. "I it supposed to only accept three groups but it could have been hoodwinked by someone skilled enough in that sort of magic, to accept more."

Bella's name was poorly written on the front side of the parchment, and on the back was the name Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Prue's said Mahoutokoro School of Magic on the back.

"This isn't my writing. I don't use parchment. I don't even know how to write with a quill. I've only read about about this place before and it wouldn't be my first thought."

"What's Islevirmerny?" Prue asked aloud as she stared down at Bella's parchment, her face a mask of confusion.

" _Ilvermorny_ ," Bella corrected. "A Slytherin descendant crossed the pond ages ago and settled in New England and formed a magical school with the native magicals. Yada yada yada. Mahoutokoro is the Japanese school of magic fyi."

"You could have gotten someone to enter you!" Maxime interrupted, apparently intent upon keeping this drama going instead of using her damn head like the educator she was supposed to be.

"Was that really an option?" Bella demanded of the adults. "Could it really have been so easy for underage people to be entered in so long as someone older did it because that is a glaring lack of consideration in my eyes. Poor planning. What good was the age line thing if people of age to compete can enter people  _not_  of age?"

Dumbledore, because of fucking course he had to get involved somehow, stepped forward, looking apologetic. "The Goblet was created to choose a student out of every group. Remember, in years past, the Tournament was open to any age participant. The age restriction was only chosen by the Ministries this year to try and combat the death rate. The Goblet would not recognise that rule."

Prue scoffed. "That's stupid then. It shouldn't have been reinstated at all if it's obvious there are so many loopholes around entering!"

"Furthermore," Bella inserted, just because she was feeling spiteful, "I have a career that demands my attention and training every single day. I have skating competitions that I have to perform in! There's the British Nationals at the end of November and then the Junior Grand Prix Final in the middle of December. Plus I'll be competing in the Junior World Championships come March! I don't have the time necessary to care about some stupid tournament that won't benefit me at all. All it's for is so you people can wave your fingers at each other and brag about who's supposedly better."

All the while, she stared Snape down because he was her Head of House and he should know what the hell to do in this situation, since she obviously didn't.

The dour man cleared his throat to gain the attention of the room. "Potter the elder has proven to be very hard-working and dedicated to her job. She is more invested in the muggle world where her sport takes place, and hasn't begun to care much for the inner workings of the magical side yet. She is not emotionally attached to Hogwarts and never gets into trouble or feels the need to break rules. She is not the kind of person to do something like this because it wouldn't benefit her career.

"As for the Girl-Who-Lived, she's proven to have no interest in doing any kind of work. Ever. She is lazy outside of Quidditch, her schoolwork is mediocre at best, and she knows well enough she wouldn't have the talent necessary to enter such a dangerous tournament. She could owl order the newest racing broom on the market, which is worth five times the tournament's reward, without even a second thought. She would never bother with this either because she would gain nothing useful from it."

Bella could hear Prue's annoyed growl, but the girl didn't fight his words. He was trying to assist them after all. In his own arsehole way of course. He wouldn't be the magical Batman otherwise.

"It's been tampered with, it has!" Moody insisted and he limped closer, his creepy eyes spinning wildly in his head. "A magical object like that couldn't possibly be bested by two fourth years. I've been teaching them to defend against the Dark Arts and while they are the top of their year, they've shown no extra talent worth noting."

Karkaroff glared at the ex-Auror. "You seemed to have given this a lot of thought, Mad-Eye," he sneered.

Said wizard wasn't even fazed as he said, "Thinking like Dark Wizards has been my job for years, Karkaroff, perhaps you remember how I caught you and your Death Eater friends by doing so?"

All of Karkaroff's courage disappeared at the mention of his past. He cowered instantly. Bella could finally understand why Tom liked messing with him so much if he made it so easy.

McGonagall decided to stop everything before anything worse could happen, and sent one of the Ministry men a questioning, almost desperate look. "They didn't enter themselves. Does it still count, Ludo?"

The man without the hat, who didn't look in the least bit concerned, turned to his companion expectantly.

Bowler Hat Guy sighed. "The rules are clear. If you're selected you must compete. A binding magical contract is formed between those chosen and the Goblet. If you refuse to compete, the consequences can be dire to your continued health."

"Well, you can count on Barty Crouch to know the rules of everything inside and out, so that's that and this is this!" Ludo said happily, clapping in excitement. "Let's get on with the explanations, shall we?"

Barty? A second person named Barty in so little time? How could that not be a coincidence? She'd have to look into that.

Also, a magical contract formed between a person and an object even though they didn't willingly participate in its creation? WTF? Bella needed to talk to the Goblins because this was a whole arse mess in and of itself.

And as the two men explained the First Task expected of the Champions, Bella could feel the dread building.

British Nationals was starting 26 November, and of course the First Task was taking place on the same damn day.

Of-fucking-course.

* * *

Hermione's best friend was entered into a dangerous tournament where people tended to die. That meant that Hermione needed to study up on everything involving the tournament, as well as devise a guide of spells Bella would need to learn as soon as possible if she wanted a fighting chance against sixteen and seventeen year olds, plus the dangers the tournament brought with it.

The moment Bella's name had been called, she'd already started categorising exactly what would be useful in the future. What would keep her alive and safe no matter what.

In the history of the stupid tourney, the competitors had been forced to duel each other, to fight magical creatures that needed multiple people at once just to subdue them, and usually be forced to search for items/objects/people and use magic in creative ways in order to succeed in each Task if they wanted to win.

Her notebook was flipped open to a new page and she was writing madly, trying to think of all the Tasks she'd read about already and what the Champions had done for each one of them in order to pass.

Perfecting the Shield Charm was a must because depending on the strength, it could block even a powerful Fire Charm. Bella had already finished that for DADA, thank God, but they'd review it just to be absolutely certain she was in the clear.

The Summoning Charm because anything could be used as a shield if you were creative enough. She had also learned that one for Charms under Flitwick's requirements, but they'd practice just to be sure.

Snake Summoning because Bella could speak to them and they could be useful in information gathering if it ended up being required. And Parselmagic was a thing Hermione had read about so maybe she could look into that at some point.

Every kind of explosion-based curse out there. They could do a lot of damage to the environment plus living creatures. Hermione was not above blowing up a magical creatures if it was necessary for Bella to live.

The Bubble Head Charm because it would work for underwater scenarios plus anywhere the air wasn't safe to breathe, and since Nundu and Merfolk had been used in previous tournaments, it was only right to learn just in case. Safety mattered the most right now.

The Disarming Charm, which she knew already but still. Some people in their year still hadn't mastered it yet for some reason.

The Patronus Charm because Dementors and Lethifolds had been used before as well and it was best to at least attempt it even though most people didn't bother learning it at all since it was apparently very difficult and advanced magic.

Elemental Charms. Very Advanced Magic as well.

It was all necessary if she wanted Bella to make it out alive. And if Bella had to expand her already ridiculous schedule just to fit it all in to prepare herself, then so be it.

Quitting was not allowed. Competing was a  _must_  according to the rulebook and if they didn't, they could lose their magic entirely. And once the Champion was inside the enclosure where the Task would take place, they were left to the mercy of whatever was in there with them. Meaning no standing back and just waiting for things to end. The only way out was through either finishing the Task, getting too injured to continue, or leaving in a body bag, and the last two were not so pleasant prospects.

She nodded to herself. The list made sense and she knew some of the spells on it so she could help teach if Bella wanted it. She'd never taught someone how to perform magic before but maybe it would be helpful!

Hermione never really grew up religious. She'd never prayed a day in her life beyond the common _'please God'_  that people often did when bad things happened. Not for the sake of a higher belief, but because she got used to hearing people say it so often and it had become a habit.

Despite all of this stacked against her, she bowed her head and prayed to whatever was out there to keep Bella alive and well because she had a future ahead of her and she could not be lost all because someone thought it would be a funny joke to force her into a deadly tournament.

Luna patted Hermione's shoulder and smiled in that way that said she knew something she wasn't letting them in on. "Things won't be easy, but not impossible."

If that was literally the only reassurance she could be given, Hermione knew Bella was in trouble and that honestly scared her the most.

They'd just have to be supportive of her efforts and understanding of the fact that she was going to be extremely busy in the coming months. Thank goodness Time Turners were a thing because Bella would be in so much more trouble otherwise.

"We are going to get her through this alive."

* * *

"How the hell is this even possible?!" Aaliyah demanded at the top of her lungs. Deborah made a valiant effort to calm her down but it was a complete failure. She was so riled up that she was just inches away from punching a wall. A habit she thought she'd long ago dealt with because she hadn't been this angry in ages. She was only holding back because the walls were solid stone at Hogwarts and she would literally do damage to only herself in the long run.

Her ward. Her daughter essentially, was currently forced to compete in some ridiculous tournament that was just a glorified pissing contest between some schools who wanted to wag fingers at each other and brag about how supposedly great they were.

"Protective measures were put in place all to prevent things like this. The hell were any of you thinking making them so easy to get around?"

In the room with them were Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. None of them looked happy to be in this situation but if they'd actually put some more thought into this stupid tournament, then maybe this wouldn't have been necessary at all.

Bella was actually in danger with this compared to skating. In skating it was in a controlled environment with medical personnel around every corner. Years had gone by with modifying rules and regulations to ensure the safety of the competitors. The chances of dying in a rink were slim to none. But the TWT on the other hand, involved magical creatures that needed dozens of people to control them in order to keep them in line. The death rate was high as hell which was why it had been discontinued in the first place! There had never been an uninjured contestant in the history of the damn games!

And they were telling her Bella was going to be forced into this shite and actually  _had_  to compete lest something unfortunate happen to her for breaking a contract she wasn't willing a part of? How the hell did that even work?

She often heard Bella complain about how stupid wizards were and she had to concur, they were fucking morons! To allow something like this to happen so easily, make her violent urges rear their ugly head once again.

"We tried," said McGonagall from behind the desk.

"Evidently not well enough," was Aaliyah's snide reply. "All this drama to keep underage kids from competing and yet you made it so anyone over the age of 16 could enter anyone. Not even a limit to how many names a single person could place in the bloody cup! Where has all the fucking common sense gone with you people?! Why do you keep fucking up so much?"

* * *

**DANGER _at_ HOGWARTS! **

As you have all been made aware of, the TriWizard Tournament has once again been  
reinstated with the promise of a more fair, and less dangerous environment this time.  
In reality, the Ministry merely imposed an age limit of sixteen at the least, for those  
wishing to compete, and then did nothing further to keep the underage children safe.

It has become apparent that under Minister Fudge's dubious guidance, the Ministry  
of Magical Britain does not care about the citizens it presides over. They all seemed  
to collectively forget how children and teenagers are and generally when told not to  
do something, or are told something is impossible, those words are often taken as a  
challenge to be proven wrong.

Anyone could have entered the tournament at any time so long as the one entering  
the name was old enough to pass the poorly placed Age Line set up by the Hogwarts  
staff. Specifically Albus Dumbledore, Transfiguration Professor. This was proven when  
both Prunella Potter and her twin sister Belladonna Potter, were both entered into the  
tournament despite being too young to cross the Age Line.

Both girls have sworn they didn't enter themselves and their professors believe them  
thanks to the reputations they have built for themselves. But this leaves rest of us to  
question what is going on and should we be concerned as a people?

Why would someone enter two young girls into a deadly tournament?

I think I have an answer! You all recall the assault on the Quidditch World Cup Final  
this past August! Twenty-three Death Eaters in full Death Eater apparel stormed the  
campgrounds and caused mayhem and destruction to everything they came across.  
Two innocent civilians died amidst the carnage and several more were injured.

This alarming and unexpected terrorist attack went unexplained. Minister Fudge has  
been set in ignoring the rightful worries of the people, but we at The Daily Prophet,  
are dedicated to keeping our eyes and ears open for any suspicious activity. And now  
the Girl-Who-Lived and her older sister have been entered in a competition where a  
child has died in each competition in years past. It seems to be no mere coincidence  
that a 'reformed Death Eater' is currently being hosted at Hogwarts at the same time.

Yes, I mean Igor Karkaroff, Highmaster of Durmstrang. So strange that the moment  
he arrives, two girls belonging to a family his former master detested, are then put in  
immediate danger. Durmstrang is known to be regular practitioners of Dark Magic and  
they tend to churn out the concerning sort with questionble morals.

As it stands, there are five Champions in the TriWizard Tournament: Cedric Diggory,  
a 7th Year Hufflepuff student for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tomas  
Night, a 6th Year student for Durmstrang Institute. Fleur Delacour, a 6th Year student  
for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Prunella Potter, a 4th Year Gryffindor student for  
Mahoutokoro School of Magic. Belladonna Potter-Michaels, a 4th Year Slytherin student  
for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I do wonder how both Ilvermorny and Mahoutokoro will feel to have been included in a  
European competition? Will this open up bridges for more international cooperation, or  
will this push us even farther apart than before?

What is your opinion on this big mess? Let us know and your thoughts might be included  
in the next paper!

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

Voldemort had much to consider as of late. Barty's entire explanation over the Tournament business and what he'd witnessed, had put many things into perspective for the Dark Lord.

Belladonna Potter was entered as she was supposed to be, under Ilvermorny no less. But her twin had also been entered under a different school and Barty had sworn he wasn't behind that particular action. The Daily Prophet was set to blame Igor Karkaroff for everything, which was perfectly fine for the time being. Allow him to suffer a little for his disloyalty.

But he had other thoughts in mind. Specifically, Albus Dumbledore and what he thought he was doing by entering Prunella Potter into the Tournament. The girl had no skills so there was no point in it?

Dumbledore still believed her to be the Girl Who Lived. The old coot might be attempting to test the girl somehow. Either way, she hadn't a hope in passing the Tournament's difficult Tasks. She would most likely die, which was annoying since that privilege was supposed to be for Voldemort alone! Once again, Dumbledore's interference ruins everything!

Back to Belladonna Potter. The girl was also the top of her year in Defence, but she didn't exactly show much skill or interest in doing better than she already was. She never asked for additional training either. The chances of her making it through were slim as well.

And to make things even more stressful, she had to make it through for his plan to work fully, and for him to learn what it was about their connection. If Barty swore her eyes had become just like Voldemort's whilst under the Imperius, then there was something else going on and he wanted to find out before killing her.

"Keep an eye on them, Barty. I want to know everything they do. I want all the details of the First Task from you personally. In the meantime, Bellatrix and Wormtail are collecting the items necessary for the ritual. Don't fail me!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

* * *

Bella sighed. Her new schedule looked even more tedious than the last one. That one had seemed pretty okay, but now it was even longer than before! But she had devised a way to work around that and make it not as stressful as it sounded!

 

> **SCHEDULE - Bella's Super Secret Special, NOT Stressful, Schedule!:**
> 
> **Mon - Sat:**
> 
> Sleep _(12 AM - 7 AM)  
>  _ Breakfast _(8 AM- 9 AM)  
>  _ Skating _(9:30 AM - 12 PM)  
>  _ Lunch _(12:30 PM - 1 PM)  
>  _ Free Time _(1 PM - 2 PM)  
>  _ Anaerobic _(3 PM - 4 PM)  
>  _ Studying/Homework _(5 PM - 6 PM)  
>  _ Dinner _(7 PM - 8 PM)  
>  _ Floo Back _(8 PM)_
> 
> **12 Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Sleep _(8 AM - 5 PM)  
>  _ Kitchens _(5:30 PM - 6 PM)  
>  _ Aerobics _(6:15 - 7 PM)  
>  _ Studying/Homework _(7:15 PM - 8:00 PM)_
> 
> **12 More Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Period 1 _(9:15 AM - 10:30 AM)  
>  _ Period 2 _(10:45 AM - 12 PM)  
>  _ Period 3 Lunch _(12:15 PM - 1 PM)  
>  _ Period 4 _(1:15 PM - 2:30 PM)  
>  _ Period 5 _(2:45 PM - 4 PM)  
>  _ Period 6 _(4:15 PM - 5:30 PM)  
>  _ Dinner _(7 PM - 8 PM)_
> 
> _{Sometimes 9:15 - 12 and 1:15 - 4 are Double Periods.}_
> 
> **12 Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Sleep _(8 AM - 5 PM)  
>  _ Kitchens _(5:30 PM - 6 PM)  
>  _ Aerobics _(6:15 - 7 PM)  
>  _ Studying/Homework _(7:15 PM - 8:00 PM)_
> 
> **12 Turns Back to 8 AM**
> 
> Homework _(8 AM - 10 AM)  
>  _ Kitchens _(10:15 AM - 12 PM)_ _  
> _ Magical Training _(12:15 PM - 3:00 PM)  
>  _ Relaxation _(3:30 PM - 6 PM)  
> _ Kitchens _(6:30 PM - 9 PM)  
> _ Free Time or Magical Training _(9 PM - Curfew)_
> 
> = 72 Hours a Day.
> 
> **Sunday:**  Free Day.

According to the math, Bella would be going through 456 hours every week starting 10 November, which was technically her 15th birthday. With this new schedule, she'd turn 16 on 28 March 2015, and 17 on 15 October 2015. Her O.W.L.s would literally be her last year and she'd be allowed to legally perform magic any time she wanted as well, so there were some ups to this new change all to accommodate the tournament.

* * *

"I have a mobile phone now, give me your number," Bella announced when Amara walked in the door.

"Does this mean you're getting a Twitter account too?"

"Um..." She hadn't considered going that far, but now that Amara had mentioned it, maybe she should? Her subscribers on YouTube had been asking for ages and she was nearing the one million mark. "Maybe."

"You should. Social media is a great way to connect to your audience."

Well she wasn't wrong.

"Okay, fine. We'll need to come up with a handle though."

* * *

** ERNEST VAUN PYRITES TAKES OFFICE AS MAGICAL BRITAIN'S NEWEST MINISTER FOR MAGIC!  **

In a shocking turnaround, Pyrites managed to wrestle away the support Ambrose Uelik Gamp had  
gained in the past few months, all in a span of seven hours! Early this afternoon, the details were  
coming in, in Gamp's favour and suddenly the Pyrites supporters descended upon the polls with a  
ferociousness never before seen in our community!

However, while the increase in numbers is historical in an of itself, the turnout was far lower than  
it has ever been in our community! Compared to the last election, 30% less of our population are  
involved in this election. Is this because the people weren't pleased with the options, or because  
they've lost their interest in politics in general?

Conflicting opinions about those who were up for the position of Minister have been rampant in our  
Community. However it is important that the people realise that there is the option of voting for a  
candidate that you disagree with the least. The lesser of the evils can be voted out in six years and  
it is better on the Community as a whole that we deal with a Poor Minister versus a Terrible Minister.

With reluctant congratulations to Ernest Vaun Pyrites,

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life with the tournament looming overhead, goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I started writing Ch. 43!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Tom Riddler Jr. was in Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore didn't know what to do about it! Sure his hair was no longer black, instead a more chestnut brown, and his eyes were a bright blue instead of the dark grey he'd possessed all those years ago. He wasn't pale this time, looking more like he'd gotten more sun than ever before. But that curl to his hairstyle was the same. The height from his fifth year was the same. The cheekbones and set of his mouth was the same. Despite the changes,  _nothing had really changed_.

But how?

And why?

He didn't act like Voldemort. Didn't even feel like Voldemort. Albus had noted Voldemort's presence in the school the moment Quirrell had returned all those years ago. But he hadn't felt anything Voldemort-like from Tom and it had been a week since he'd come to Hogwarts.

And he was named Tom! Tomas Night specifically, but that didn't matter. It was the same face as Tom Riddle, and Albus wasn't the kind to be fooled to easily. It was either Tom himself, or a son. Both were completely possible. And he was a Durmstrang student as well! He would have been taught Dark Magic ever since he began his magical education.

Him befriending Belladonna Potter so readily too was a cause for concern. Why her? Because she was the Gaunt Lady, thereby the Slytherin Lady by extension? Some other reason he couldn't think of?

It didn't make sense for Voldemort to not focus on the Girl Who Lived. So perhaps this was his son experiencing a moment of rebellion.

But why would he focus on muggle-loving, Belladonna Potter? What was so special about her? And why did they get on so easily?

Albus wouldn't rest until he had everything he needed to understand this situation.

* * *

Prue slumped into a chair at Bella's library table, causing the group of Slytherins and Hufflepuffs to send her odd looks. She was more disheveled than usual though, so it was understandable. She'd rushed down the stairs after all.

"You okay?" Bella asked, looking her over twice more to verify that she was physically fine.

She sighed. "It's not like any of them really bother to talk to me anyway, but now the whole House is acting like a bunch of pricks because my name came out of an ancient cup covered in rust and who knows what else. And now it's obvious their ignoring me but like, dramatically. Before it was just no one seemed to notice I'm there, now they notice but are going to great lengths to make me realise they don't want me around without saying anything."

"Where's Weasley?"

"Screaming at them. I decided to come ahead early because he seemed to be gearing up for a long rant and his face had already gone red by the time I left."

It was nice to know her best mate was on her side but seriously, the rather poor way Gryffindors were handling this was ridiculous. So she got to risk life and limb for a stupid game on behalf of a school she only just learned about that week, and they didn't. Her heart was truly bleeding for their collective plight. How unfair for them!

Staring at her not so identical twin now, Prue asked, "What did the Slytherins have to say about you being selected?"

"I was told not to embarrass the House."

How fucking sweet of them. Seeing as few Slytherins bothered to enter to begin with so it wasn't like they'd care much anyway. Every Gryffindor sixteen and over had entered and in swoops a fourteen year old who has shown no magical talent in anything, somehow getting chosen over them all.

And no one thought that a bit odd? Especially since both she and Bella were forced into it? Bella, who was never in trouble for anything? Who didn't make waves among the students? Who literally felt as if she barely existed in the school if truth must be told?

In a way Bella came across as a goodie goodie which was hilarious!

"I think this school has really taken their perceptions of what their Houses stand for, too far," remarked Granger with a disappointed shake of the head. She bent over her notebook in order to write something out. Prue could just make out the word, 'judgmental' before it became too clustered to understand.

She wasn't wrong though. Prue never got the whole obsession over Houses. Her childhood house(sure as hell wasn't a home of any sort) was filled with only red and gold. Prue was not a fan of the colour red and didn't like it when it was paired with gold. And it was everywhere! The whole house from carpeting to drapery. It was never-ending amounts of red and gold colours and a lot of gold cast items to decorate further.

And it wasn't just Gryffindor alumni who did it. Anyone from Hogwarts was stupidly loyal to their House and some people even refused to wear colours that didn't coincide with their House's coat of arms.

Why did people put that much importance on something that only lasted for seven years for most people? And some never had a good time at Hogwarts so why all the loyalty?

"I hate my House," Prue announced.

The group hummed in agreement, not even attempting to pretend they thought the opposite.

"Have you started training for the Tasks?" Zabini asked after a while of them doing nothing of importance.

"No. I wouldn't know what to do anyway."

Bella sighed. "Alright then. You and I will work together. Mione made me a training list and we'll both work on it so we don't die."

Thank Merlin Bella had an answer because Prue was a lost mess.

And… "I know where we can train in private too."

* * *

"Are you absolutely certain, Albus?"

"It's him, Minerva!"

"It doesn't feels like him though. We can't simply stalk someone just because  _you_  think he's suspicious."

"You've seen Tom's graduation photo. You know they look exactly alike."

" _Fine_! I'll order the portraits to watch him for suspicious behaviour, but if he catches on, you are taking all the blame for it."

"Fine then."

* * *

"What's the history behind Mr. Grumpy Crouch?"

Blaise looked up from his comic about a wizard who was bitten by an Acromantuala and got spider abilities from it that he then used to save the people of Magical Britain - which was apparently a rip off of an American muggle comic from the 60s - to find Bella looking around the table expectantly. He and Theo shared a look before Blaise nodded to himself and decided to answer, setting the comic aside for the time being. "He was once Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement during the war, and he had grand designs upon the position of Minister for Magic and the power it would give him. His following was very supportive for a time too and put away so many Death Eaters alongside Alastor Moody that many believed they would see the war's end in no time."

Hermione's interest was piqued. "What happened to make him change professions?" He was now Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation which had very different requirements for those under the banner's employ. No one just randomly changed professions on a whim.

Her question got a snort from Theo. "His son was exposed as a Death Eater and it shamed him terribly."

"Exposed by Igor Karkaroff no less," Blaise added dramatically, enjoying how everyone's faces turned to surprise at that. Drama, so long as it didn't involve him, his family, or his friends, was always entertaining! "That's why he's been so jittery around Crouch whenever he comes by."

Bella hummed. "So Karkaroff is the world's biggest nark and I'm not surprised by that fact. No wonder Tom likes messing with him."

"Barty Crouch Jr. ended up sentenced to Azkaban alongside the Lestranges, crying for his father the entire time. And yet Barty Sr. exclaimed that he was  _'no son of mine'_  and sent him away without hesitation. However the damage had been done. His offspring had been living in his home, and had been a Marked supporter of... Voldemort for some time. How he hadn't noticed at all, was what the people demanded to know. His favour fell and he resigned to a less open ministerial position that still had power, but not attention."

Blaise didn't even blame the community for questioning the man. How did your son, who lived under your roof for decades and ate at your table every night, manage to hide such a big secret from you? It cast doubts upon Crouch's ability to handle problems as they arose. Made people wonder if he was in cahoots with Voldemort himself and was just getting rid of the useless followers.

"What about the son?" Bella asked. "He still in Azkaban?"

Theo shook his head. "Apparently he died not long after being imprisoned within. Was ill or something."

The look that crossed Bella's face, seemed to scream her doubts, and that made Blaise curious. "What do you know, Bells?"

The girl looked around at the library and sighed. "I think it's time for you to be made aware of something Prue and I have known since Second Year. Well, she knew a bit longer than me actually, because Voldemort told her himself."

She reached up to undo her green and silver tie, and began undoing her shirt buttons, rendering all of them to gaping messes. And Blaise was caught between wanting to watch, and turning away to respect her privacy even though she was deliberately removing her shirt in a private place!

She stopped at the fourth button thank Merlin, and pulled her white bra down just a bit, to reveal... a strange, silvery/white scar on her sternum. It looked like multiple lightning strikes spread across the skin and seemed to take up more space than what Bella was showing them. "Voldemort told Prue that he attacked the black-haired child first. I've always had this scar since before I can remember. The day I was adopted it started burning now and then. And then I noted that when the droning voice starts and the headaches begin, the scar also burns in tandem. That's why I clutch at my chest so much."

This did not sound good.

"Voldemort told Prue the Killing Curse hit me in the chest, I somehow sucked it in through the mouth, and then shot it back at him out of my eyes, which is why mine and Prue's eyes aren't the same colour anymore. The summer before Second Year I got checked over by the Goblins, as you'll recall, to find out what the hell was wrong with me. Turns out a piece of Voldemort's soul broke off him and latched onto me. It's sewn itself completely into my core as some weird, black thread, and cannot be removed in any way short of death where our souls would move onto the next whatever together. It also has been siphoning magic from my core for years and uses it to hurt me now and then.

"Tom believes that the piece of Voldemort, who was once an orphan himself, is jealous that I got adopted when he didn't. That's why it started acting up the day I got adopted and not before. It now periodically tries to interfere with any magical or intellectual advancements I make."

There was so much to think about just from these little bits of information. The first being... "Prunella isn't the Girl-Who-Lived," Blaise realised.

Bella shook her head. "No. We decided to let it go on though because Dumbledore is being an arsehole and as proven by him inserting himself into Neville's situation, he will gladly shove the work onto another. We thought it best to keep it secret since Prue definitely isn't going to fight Voldemort. Especially not for a man who's been telling his friends for ages that Voldemort was still alive and Prue would kill him some day, while letting the world believe he was gone. And if he learned the truth, he would try and force this onto me. And yet he's lost faith in Prue as we've all seen, and is trying to force this on Neville."

So the real GWL had been Bella all along, which honestly made more sense. She was just more well-rounded than Prue. No offence to Prue intended of course.

And it also might explain why Bella's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Voldemort was still out there and probably wanted her dead.

"Now I asked about Barty because I have had two dreams where I was Voldemort. And he was talking to a young man named Barty, who looked he needed ten thousand meals and then ten thousand years of sleep. And they've talk about Me, Prue, school, the Ministry, Bellatrix, and Pettigrew from what I've seen. The man who cast the Dark Mark into the sky at the World Cup Final, was the Barty from the dreams I had. Meaning he's real. I don't know how he's alive if he's supposed to be dead, but I'm inclined to believe I have some kind of connection to Voldy through this scar and the soul piece. I woke up with it hurting and a horrible migraine."

And this didn't make anything better! It was all worse. What if Voldemort himself picked up on the supposed 'connection' between he and Bella? The Voldemort  _not_  latched on Bella's core, he should say.

"This is terrible," Hermione summed up succinctly. There was just no better way to put it.

* * *

"Tom, save me!"

Being accosted by a young woman was something Tom was actually used to. Admiring the young woman doing it however, was new. When Bella latched onto his arm, he wasn't overcome with the violent urge to shove her off or vomit like he would with anyone else. In fact, he found that he didn't mind because it seemed like a very Bella thing to do and her being in his personal space didn't unnerve him in the least. And she wasn't trying to 'get in his pants' as she would say.

"What am I supposed to be saving you from?"

"Homework," the younger teen groaned into his arm. "I have so much homework to do and I really hate all of it. Why they think students just have all this time on their hands, I have no idea."

"I just saw you at breakfast, how do you have more homework now?"

She looked up at him, her thin brows quirking. "Dude, I shared breakfast with you this morning, thirty hours ago. A lot changes in that time frame, especially for someone like me."

Oh. This was her third run through the day? Maybe the fourth? Her schedule was utter madness and it was hard to keep up with so he just took her at her word and didn't argue.

He just seen her an hour ago at breakfast and here she was, thirty hours older in that span of time! With excess work on her hands.

"What homework were you given?" he asked, wanting to get back to why she'd found him in the first place.

"It's another project for Ancient Runes. We have to use Runes to tell a story now. Doesn't need to be long, but it must be coherent and have some kind of a meaning."

He remembered doing projects like that. Always the teacher's favourite for the beginning of the term and never a favourite of the students. Tom wasn't interested much in fiction so having to write something fictional was annoying.

"Does it have to be an original story?"

"No, thank God," the girl sighed. "I might just explode otherwise. I'm not good with original writing."

"Aesop's Fables are useful. Translate one into Runes and have at it."

She was silent for a moment, resting her head on his upper arm because it was all her head could reach. She was short.

"You're a bloody genius! Thanks, Tom!" she said, patting his back.

Bella hurried away, her long hair swishing from side to side as she went. Tom was left to stare for several seconds, wondering how Bella had managed to get their acquaintance to become a friendship because he never would have willingly befriended her or anyone like her, on his own in a million years before their meeting.

* * *

"Is there a reason you are in my potions stores, Igor?"

He was just trying to ascertain which ingredients he kept losing, and Igor had to come and bother him. More important things were going on. Such as someone filching ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from his stores everything week and him not being able to catch them in the act.

Severus stared down his long nose the man who had very quickly tried to sell him down the river once upon a time all to escape prison. And here he was, over a decade later, trying to act as if they were companions and that there was no bad blood between them. Severus' ability to hold a grudge was uncontested and he definitely held one against this twat.

"You cannot tell me you haven't felt it!" Karkaroff hissed, gripping the sleeve of his left arm tightly. He had always been an emotional one. It was a good thing he never managed to make it to the Inner Circle. He would have sang like a bloody canary at the first sign of trouble.

Severus knew exactly what the coward was talking about, and had indeed felt the twinge in his Mark. But he wasn't about to play this game. Not now. Not so obviously whilst in the middle of Hogwarts of all places with Mad-Eye Moody of all people lurking around even blasted corner he could find to spy on people. And moody seemed specifically fixated on Igor, especially after what Rita Skeeter had said about him in the paper.

No longer did Severus have the luxury of roaming the castle as he pleased, unburdened by his past. He had to be on his best behaviour at all times and he wasn't about to lose whatever strides he'd made all because Igor hadn't a secretive bone in his body.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Igor."

And the fool  _had_  to go and shove his sleeve up to show off the Dark Mark in the middle of the damn day. Right after lunch of all times. The Mark they'd both been branded with once upon a time, to keep them loyal. The Mark that was, unfortunately, darkening as the days passed which wasn't a good sign in Severus' opinion. He hadn't been unaware of it, especially as it twinged now and then. He didn't necessarily want to acknowledge it though. He had enough of the doom and gloom speeches from Albus to want to deal with them from anyone else.

"It burns all the time, Severus! Like the skin is being torn off over and over!" the coward hissed.

He hated what it represented. The biggest mistake of his life. And all because James Potter's gang had to bother him so much he ended up stupidly thinking Voldemort was the better choice when Dumbledore never stood up for him or even so much as looked at him. The leader of the Light had ignored the bullying actions of the Marauders which looked like he'd been in perfect agreement with their actions. Meanwhile, the Death Eaters promised things like that wouldn't happen once they had control over Hogwarts.

He was still bitter over the whole situation, how shocking to no one. Not only a testament of his naiveté but also his weakness that such meagre promises were enough to gain his support and loyalty.

"Speak for yourself, Igor," he decided to bluff with an expertly straight face that he'd spent years crafting. "You are the one who sold the rest of your companions out and the Dark Lord would have been made aware of it at some point.  _I_  have felt nothing." That was a lie, not that Karkaroff needed to know that. He was simply better at keeping a straight face amidst the pain. And Severus wanted to render the man into a panicked mess because he wasn't above being an arsehole to those he disliked.

Igor's bottom lip quivered just the slightest, proving that he never would have been a Slytherin had he attended Hogwarts. He was just far too obvious with his emotions and lacked any form of subtlety that he could have possibly gained over the years as the head of a school. "It's more dire than you believe, Severus." His voice had pitched down suddenly and he leaned in uncomfortably close, though Severus refused to step back, not wanting to lose ground or intimidation. "The Dark Lord's son is now my ward."

It was like time had stopped the moment he heard the word ' _son_ '. The thought of Voldemort passing on his genetic material in any capacity made his stomach roll. It was something he never wanted to consider being a possibility. It was like thinking of Dumbledore ever having children and what would have to happen to make that a possibility. He detested both men in equal measure and now he was stuck with these thoughts in his mind and would have to do extensive meditation just to rid himself of their invasive imagery!

"Are you certain?" he asked quietly, putting up a privacy ward just to be safe. It wouldn't do much for Moody's eye as the blasted thing could see through even the strongest of enchantments, but it would give him a heads up.

"He was under Xenophon Nott's guidance until most recently," Igor revealed quietly, his fidgeting intensifying as the seconds passed.

Xenophon, the last remaining member of the Dark Lord's very first Inner Circle of followers. Xenophon who had been a favourite of the Dark Lord. Xenophon who had died mysteriously last year, with no explanation as to why when he'd been in perfect health all his life and looked as if he'd personally drank the Elixir of Life every evening.

The Dark Lord had an Heir. Another Slytherin descendant existed. Good Merlin, why now of all times did this have to come into the light?

"You've seen him with your Potter girl," Igor practically spat, his twitching becoming distracting.

Tomas Night. The only foreign student to reach out to Hogwarts students, let alone to Belladonna Potter's group of friends, and seamlessly insert himself into their happenings. The Durmstrang Champion. The one Dumbledore had been watching like he was a plague waiting to spread and infect the whole of Hogwarts.

Oh fuck. Severus was not ready for this.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to train in here?" Bella asked, avoiding stepping in a murky puddle because she couldn't tell how deep it really was and her trainers were new. She probably should have worn an older pair when Prue told her the plan for the afternoon. She hadn't thought it would be flooded though!

Prue had found the Chamber of Secrets before Bella had, though technically Bella had lost interest and decided not to bother looking for it at all. But Prue had ended up talking to Salazar's portrait and decided it would be a worthwhile venture. And now here they were, stood amongst the statues and the flooded sections of the chamber, staring up at what was supposed to be their ancestor in his glory.

He just looked ugly. Fashion back then was atrocious and the super long beard wasn't doing him any favours tbh. It was chilly down there as well and Bella's nose was feeling it the most. Overall an unpleasant experience.

"See this big, open space?" Prue murmured, gesturing to the very large portion of the chamber that was just flat stones. "We can use that as a sort of dueling ring if we want."

She had a point. It was bigger than what Lockhart had set up for his pathetic little Dueling Club back in their Second Year. It would do the job it was meant to at least if they were in a tight spot.

"Aright. We'll try this room for this session, but if it ends up being annoying, I have a room we can try as well. It's by your dorm too and it creates anything you need any time you need it." The room of Requirement wouldn't stay damaged if they destroyed the inside of it, whereas neither of them knew how to fix up the Chamber and probably shouldn't ruin it before exploring.

Prue was quiet for a few seconds. "That actually sounds a lot better than this room. But I wanted to introduce you to Alesandese before anything else."

"Who?"

Prue grinned. "Salazar's Basilisk Familiar. She's actually really nice and really lonely."

And then the girl was hissing at the Salazar Status and out slipped a very big, greenish snake. And to think, Basilisks bore the same  **XXXXX**  classification as Dragons, and Dragons were what had been used frequently in the TWT ever since its inception.

People who tried to claim that animals had no personality or emotions, obviously needed to speak to one at some point, because snakes were snarky, little arseholes and had no problem telling you what was on their minds.

* * *

"Why do our wands needs to be weighed? Why does the weight of the wand even matter? They're all basically the same size and the weight isn't going to differ all that much no matter the country they're made in."

"That's not the definition of ' _weigh_ ' they're talking about," Bella said as she and Prue headed toward the meeting place for the Champions. "They mean it in the way of assessing something's nature or details. So basically wood, length, and core probably."

To be honest, Bella thought it was kind of pointless too. She didn't know why it was necessary since knowing the make and model of someone's wand wasn't going to give any of the Champions an inch over their competition. And it wasn't like they were that interesting or anything. It was useless to everyone as a whole so she didn't get why it mattered.

The officials were there once again, along with Rita Skeeter and her cameraman. Both recognised them instantly and smiled invitingly. They were like Bella's coworkers in a sense. She knew that whatever Rita would be writing for the Prophet, wouldn't in any way be defamatory to either her or Prue. And that was the pro of having a journalist on your side.

"Come in, come in!" Ludo Bagman said, waving them inside. "We're going to be making sure your wands are fully functional, while also giving the world an idea of your personalities based upon their descriptions. Wands mean different things in different parts of the world after all. It adds a bit of mystery even while answering some of their questions!"

Bella really didn't like this bloke. He had a vaguely Lockhart vibe without the pedophilia thrown in there, but that honestly didn't make him any better. She felt like punching him, which was odd since Bella wasn't the best at punching.

Tom was not a far off, standing tall but loosely, as if there wasn't a single care in the world. He didn't feel threatened by anyone in the room. Fleur was making eyes at him, which was odd since she was at least partially a Veela and she was the kind people fawned over instead. Cedric was rubbing a small, blue cloth over his wand not too far away from them.

Bella saw Ollivander standing with McGonagall, and realised that he would be the one reviewing their wands basically.

"Time to begin, ol' chap!" Bagman insisted, clapping his hands. "This is Garrick Ollivander, Britain's premier wandmaker with unmatched knowledge of wandlore. Everyone gets their wands from his shop."

"Mademoiselle Delacour, if you please?" Ollivander said, waving the blonde forward.

She presented her wand with a flourish and Ollivander shifted it from palm to palm, held it up to the sunlight streaming in through a nearby window, and ran his fingers over the base. "Rosewood, 9 ½", and inflexible. The core is that of a full Veela, dear me!"

Fleur was beaming, and her smile was ridiculously beautiful. "My grandmuzzer was kind enough to give me one of 'er 'airs."

"I don't use Veela hair because it can be temperamental, but this is indeed a wand of fine craftsmanship and if it works, then it works. Lovely, lovely.  **Avis**!"

A flock of screeching birds burst from the tip of the wand, and Ollivander nodded as he handed it back, obviously pleased with its performance.

He waved Cedric forward a second later and hummed. "One of my own making. Ash, 12 ¼", and with the tail hair of a particularly testy unicorn. You polish it regularly, yes?"

"Of course sir." He had a nice smile too, WTF?

Ollivander pointed the wand at a nearby desk and flicked it twice. The desk vanished. "Well done." Another flick and the desk reappeared without a problem.

Tom came next and Bella did not miss the telling look Ollivander gave him when he handed over his new wand. "A Gregorovitch creation. A shame he stopped crafting years ago, but his work is still impeccable. Yew, 13 ½", and a Phoenix Feather core." He held the wand up to his ear. "A baby Phoenix when the tail was plucked to be precise. For shame, Mykew."

He held the wand out and made a small swish with it. " **Expecto Patronum**."

Something Bella'd never seen before, which looked like a silvery/white dragon, seemed to take form in the air. It spread it's decent-sized wings and took flight, disappearing through the nearby window in a flash.

"Wonderful. I hope you put this one to better use than your last," was Ollivander's ominous comment that had Tom merely using his Charming Smile™ on the man.

She was beginning to think the fancy cup just decided to pick the most attractive people available. And then Prue and Bella who were the only people available to be chosen for the schools they'd been entered on behalf of. So there were the real Champions who were all hot and stuff, and then there was Prue and Bella on the other side.

Unfair.

"Ms. Potter the elder, step forward."

Bella presented her wand to the old man like it was a pair of scissors, trusting him not to murder her in return with the weapon. "You… do not use this very much, do you?" he asked as he held it up to his ear.

"No," she admitted.

"It's easy to tell. I sold this to you back in 2011 and its lack of experience hasn't really changed much. Holly, 11", and a Phoenix Feather core that is brother to only one other wand. Curious that this is your wand and not your twins' considering her experience at the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named."

And suddenly Bella was reminded of her first time in his shop and how oddly he'd been acting when she'd gotten her wand.  _'It's quite curious that the prophecy child didn't get chosen by the brother wand, but you did'_  he'd said. It was almost as if he'd known something was up.

His oddly milky eyes and the whispery tone of his voice reminded her of Luna in a way. God, what if he was a Seer of some sort too? By now she really wouldn't be shocked.

Ollivander summoned a bouquet of flowers and handed her wand back, flowers and all.

Finally, Prue handed over her own wand.

"Another of my creation. Cherry, 14", and with a Dragon Heartstring from the Asian Nāgarāja, which is the newest breed of dragon discovered only in the last century. Full details of it origins are unknown but it's a very calm breed and tend to prefer watching compared to fighting so there have been no problems involving them ever reported."

That sounded pretty cool actually.

Ollivander summoned a domesticated feline and then vanished it a second later, and Bella could only hope it went back to where it came from and not somewhere horrible. She liked felines even if her own was an arsehole.

The most annoying part of the wand weighing was over thankfully. Now it was just photos and a few words here and there with Rita so those following along could be entertained. She'd be free in no time.

* * *

Barty kept a close eye on the Potter girls in recent days. Belladonna Potter obviously held the most of his attention because of her relevance to the Dark Lord, but the other had managed to become interesting enough to capture some of his attention.

The twins did seem to get on, which was something that he was certain was newish since they apparently didn't speak at all during their first year. Prunella even seemed to consider her twin the leader between them, looking to her for answers, and clutching to her for assurance and direction when unsure of what to do. And Belladonna didn't mind.

They seemed distrustful of him, Karkaroff, Dumbledore, and his father. The three unknown men they'd never encountered before, he could understand, but why would they not like Dumbledore? What did the old codger do? And how did Barty go about acquiring such information?

Other things of note were Karkaroff's persistent cowardice whenever he was reminded of his small stint in prison and his time as a Death Eater. The Dark Lord had special plans for him of course.

Then there was Karkaroff's #1 student, who was very advanced intellectually as well as magically. He had a familiar attitude that was appealing in its own way, and he too liked to mess with Karkaroff. Something about him reminded Barty of his Lord whenever he was feeling playful. Admittedly, it had been years since Voldemort had entertained such an attitude.

Tomas Night knew Belladonna Potter though, connecting with her far too easily for them to have their first real meeting in the Great Hall back in October. And Dumbledore did not like their friendship at all, Barty had noticed. Dumbledore seemed intensely distrustful of Night, but was it because he was a Dark Wizard taught at Durmstrang, or because of some personal reason?

In passing, Barty's borrowed eye had taken in some interesting notes. Specifically those of Hermione Granger, whom he learned wasn't a muggleborn like his Lord had believed because she was revealed to be the last of the Dagworth-Granger's and a relative of the Smiths. The girl had a muggle book full of notes for the plans she had for the Ministry and community as a whole. She believed wholeheartedly, with the support of her friends and some of her Housemates even, that she was going to be Britain's Minister for Magic some day, and there were a lot of things she wished to see fixed.

Even Barty had to admit that some of her ideas made more sense and just seemed better overall, than those his Lord wanted. He wouldn't never reveal such information aloud, but he could at least think it to himself.

Then there was the not-so-secret business the Weasley Twins were in charge of and the creations they came up with constantly. Their owl-ordering business had increased as the hols were upon them in the next month. They had potential for greatness so long as their mother stopped interfering with their dreams. It was strange how all the Weasley children who had graduated from Hogwarts managed to obtain such decent careers.

Dragomtamer, which required two Masteries. One from Care of Magical Creatures, and the other from either Runes or Charms. Curse Breaker, which required three Masteries from either Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Defence, of Transfiguration. Senior Underscretary to a Ministry Head, which required a Mastery in History of Magic. And that job in particular could get Percival Weasley into a very good place some day if he was ambitious enough to work for it. And now the twins were aiming for a business in Diagon Alley and merely needed a certain set of grades to move on to the Masteries they needed to get the proper licensing for creation.

It made Barty curious what the remaining children would do. The girl was on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team as a Chaser and Reserve Seeker if necessary. She talked about Quidditch all the time and following Prunella Potter's footsteps.

He'd heard nothing from Ronald Weasley, but it was to be noted that all the things he jokingly predicted to get by in Divination, all ended up coming true in some way. Maybe a latent Seer ability was cropping up.

Working at Hogwarts on the sly provided him with a lot of information had he was actually enjoying his time even if he had to pretend to be someone else while doing it.

* * *

**To Prunella Alula Potter,**   
**Heiress of Houses Potter and Selwyn**   
**From Sadako Yamamoto**   
**Headmistress of Mahōtokoro School of Magic**

**News of Hogwarts' TriWizard Tournament has spread far and wide across the**   
**world. Even those who are not involved are always curious to hear the results**   
**of the long-time competition, and when it was announced that it was going to**   
**be reinstated, attentions focused immediately upon the international papers**   
**for new information.**

**It did come as a shock when it reached our shores, that two additional schools**   
**who aren't even European, had been entered into this Tournament without so**   
**much as a warning. Further study has not yielded many facts. As such, we are**   
**not certain how to feel overall in light of this situation.**

**We of Japan are not unaware of your greatest feat. It is impressive that you**   
**survived a curse known to kill upon contact, yet we do not put as much faith**   
**and admiration into the act, as the European magical people seem to. We will**   
**judge based upon attitude and personality first, intelligence second, and your**   
**magical prowess third. Living when others haven't doesn't earn you respect in**   
**our land.**

**From what we have concluded, you are of a stable enough mentality, and have**   
**not publicly demonstrated any detestable character traits. The actions of your**   
**parents however, have sullied your reputation even among our people, for it is**   
**family and relations that are very important to us and their actions can reflect**   
**negatively upon you alone. When set aside from them, you appear to possess**   
**a different attitude, so we have chosen to give you the benefit of the doubt in**   
**matters of personal honor versus familial honor.**

**We know nothing of your intelligence or magical ability and cannot judge who**   
**you are based upon those. The most we can determine is based on your wand**   
**specifics. In Japan, wands that are crafted with Cherry wood are the most rare**   
**and powerful. Those in possession of them are honored in our magical school,**   
**and if the core is a Dragon Heartstring, it is said that bearer must be powerful**   
**and of good character. Often do they go on in life to do many great things.**

**As such, we'd be honored to have you represent our school in the Tournament.**   
**Enclosed is a golden pin with the school's insignia thereon, and you may attach**   
**it to your robes when competing. We do not expect you to win, for victory isn't**   
**always a noble thing or the best option. We simply expect common decency to**   
**your fellow Champions, courage in facing the unknown, and the willingness to**   
**give it your best no matter who the odds favor.**

**Thank you for your time and may good fortune favor you.**

* * *

Hogsmeade day was upon them. It had been some time since going and Bella had fifty Galleons to blow, but not all of it was for herself. She was also doing some Christmas shopping because Honeydukes had the best sweets to gift to people and while the rest of the gifts would come from the muggle side, the sweets had to be magically made otherwise they just wouldn't be good enough.

This was the year Luna was finally allowed to join them down in the village, but it was a bit sad because Hermione had decided to stay back to do some more studying that Bella was avoiding, and Blaise decided he'd rather sleep in. Prue and Ron had already gone ahead of them, leaving Bella, Theo, Luna, and Neville to themselves.

Of course it was around the Chocoboppers that Luna pulled her aside and told her she should take a look at the Chocolate Frogs and then meet up with the rest of the group in the Three Broomsticks.

And who should she meet when getting some frogs that were made of chocolate? Tom.

"You told me you don't like sweets," she accused when she was near enough to call him out.

He surreptitiously hid whatever was in his hand, behind his back as he said, "You don't know if this is for me or not."

Bella wasn't stupid though, and caught on rather quickly. "You were buying me chocolate, Tom?"

The older teen sighed and revealed a package that contained ten Honeydukes chocolate bars for a discounted price. "I was thinking of Yule because you've wasted no chances to tell me how much you love chocolate. You've ruined the surprise."

He'd actually been planning on buying her something for Christmas! And now Bella had to get him something too because it wouldn't be fair. Tom didn't like sugary foods though so it'd probably have to be a book of some sort. Like Hermione. That was a pretty easy need to shop for actually since they thought learning was - she shuddered at the mere thought - fun.

"It's the thought that counts, Tom. I'm just glad that you gave enough of a damn to even get me anything at all. You should come to the Three Broomsticks with me after this. I'm meeting the rest of my friends there and the more the merrier and all that rot."

Though he was rolling his eyes, Bella knew he actually liked being invited somewhere. Either because it was something new to do or because Bella was the one inviting him, she didn't know.

"I suppose I could free up my schedule for a quick cuppa," he relented, making her snort so hard, her throat hurt.

"You were standing in front of a wall of chocolate bars for who knows how long, trying to determine which ones I would like the most. You don't have a schedule today."

He was silent for a moment, before the telltale, "I hate you," came out.

Ah! Bantering with Tom in person was as fun as it was through fancy, magical books! Even better because she could hear the frustration in his voice and the way he enunciated his words was interesting. And the small pout he was trying so hard to hide was amusing too!

* * *

The Room of Requirement ended up being the room they chose to make use of for their training for the tournament. And it wasn't just them taking advantage of it either.

Tom had gotten wind of their planning and offered to assist them. He was older and had more experience, so they agreed. He was then the one to offer tutoring lessons to all of their friends if they wanted to join in and learn how to protect themselves more easily.

Basically, it ended with them all packed into a training room that Tom had the Room craft for them to use. He then proceeded to run through each of the spells on the list Hermione had created. To no one's shock, he knew all the spells except the Patronus Charm which he'd never bothered trying to work on before. Bella could understand why of course.

Tom started off easy, using the most basic of spells first to gauge how well all of them did. And to be honest, Neville was the best at official dueling. All that training he'd done with Moody over the summers had him trained perfectly for that kind of scenario. He knew the rules down to the T and knew what was expected of him.

He didn't defeat Tom of course, but Tom was very impressed with his ability and told him so, taking no time to enumerate the various things he'd done correctly while also giving him advice on how to improve still.

The second best duelist was Theo which wasn't really a surprise considering what his shitty grandfather had made him do for years while growing up. Of course he would have the skills in this particular area as well. It was sad what events had led to him and Neville being so good at these things, and they made Bella angry when she thought about them and how Neville was still trapped in a shite situation.

"Bella, come on up and show me what you've got."

She stood across from him on the raised platform the Room had provided, and held her wand as expected.

"As with the others, no Unforgivables allowed. Anything else is fair game so long as you are certain you can use it without suffering Post Dark Arts Addiction, and you cleanse your wand before leaving this room."

He'd already warned them that Durmstrang allowed Dark Magic because in most Europeans countries Dark Magic wasn't illegal. In fact, some Light spells were illegal over on the mainland because of what they were meant to do. That had been a shock most of all for Ronald Weasley who had obviously grown up in a very Light family with set views on these sorts of topics. But he'd listened the entire time and didn't pick a fight with Tom over it, which was a very mature action from him considering everything Bella knew about him.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

Bella's first instinct was to lash out with a, " **Bombarda**!" She'd learned quickly she had a talent for explosions and any spells that caused them. She liked to start by blowing up the areas as much as possible to distract her opponents as much as possible. This strategy had worked easily on Prue who had quickly become overwhelmed by the floor exploding under her.

Tom was on a completely different level than them both of course. He turned the flying bits of stone into flowers and then non-verbally Transfigured them into daggers that crossed the space between them at a speed Bella was not comfortable with.

She barely managed to pull up a Shield Charm which caused the weapons to shatter upon contact. One of her greatest faults in magical application, overpowering her spells, ended up saving her arse and strengthening her shields.

Bella pointed her wand at the chandelier above Tom's head and shouted, " **Reducto**!" The chain allowing it to hang from the ceiling exploded and the mass of crystal crashed down upon Tom, who easily threw up a shield of his own to protect himself.

Yet Bella was not finished, gesturing to a nearby statue of a dragon that was half in the wall, and saying, " **Draconifors**!" The status wiggled twice before stepping down from its stone pedestal and roaring at Tom as it charged him.

While it moved and Tom had to work to intercept it, Bella summoned several snakes and quietly ordered them to surround Tom as quickly as they could.

When the dragon statue was rendered to rubble, Tom spun in a circle and summoned a ring of golden flames to take care of the snakes before they could get close enough to cause him any damage.

Tom waved his wand in her direction and her own wand slipped from her grasp, soaring across the distance between them to fit perfectly in his hand. She didn't miss the golden sparks that shot out of it when it did too.

"I win," he announced with a small smile. "Unless you know wandless magic of course."

She sighed and grumbled, "No."

"You did a good job with thinking outside the box. A lot of people forget that statues can be animated with the proper spells to fight for you. It's the same spell every time, but you simply need to know the correct prefix for it to work properly."

She smiled, pleased with her over that.

"Using Parseltongue was also a good idea, but as they were summoned snakes, they wouldn't be dangerous at all, so it was a rather pointless effort on that end. Summoned animals can't do much damage naturally and the best you could do when using them, is spying because of your ability to converse with them, or an enlarged blockade."

Dammit. Although she now had ideas for future usage of the spell.

"You stand in place too much as well. Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Nott were both moving around and never stayed in one spot for too long. I was able to disarm you because you made yourself a clear and unmoving target. Those who are constantly in motion are more difficult to capture if you recall how I had to stick Mr. Longbottom to the floor and stupefy Mr. Nott before disarming them."

Yeah. She probably should have paid more attention to how he fought so she could have countered him better.

"Overall, you lasted longer than I expected and your Exploding Charm and your Reductor Curse were very powerful. I don't know if you know this, but a Reductor does not naturally render something into granules. You obliterated the very existence of that chain and that is an impressive feat. You might have overpowered the curse too."

"Yeah, Professor Flitwick has often told me I overpower my spells in his class, so I'm not that shocked." She tried to light the tip of her wand and ended up setting fire to her desk in her First Year. Fun times!

"It was a splendid duel and I'm looking forward to the next one. Ms. Granger, you're up next."

At least this was an educational experience. And dueling was actually pretty fun in its own way.

And something else she had noticed, was Blaise's dislike of Tom dying away as the days had passed. She didn't even know why Blaise didn't like him, but it was nice to see him getting on with Tom now.

* * *

** AZKABAN HABITABLE ONCE AGAIN! **

As you are most certainly aware, in recent months, Lord James Potter has been  
fighting for the Ministry to fix Azkaban's inhumane situation, and after months of  
near endless meetings, the work is finally finished! I personally received an inside  
look into the facility and it looks far better than ever before!

Amelia Bones, Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, signed off on the order to set the  
mass prison to rights. All remaining prisoners were thenceforth sent to the holding  
cells in the Ministry while the Dementors were rounded up and then sent through a  
trans-dimensional portal fashioned through Runes. Not much information was given  
beyond that and those involved have elected to ignore the implications of what will  
happen to the dimension that received them.

It has been decreed that each and every prisoner of Azkaban is allowed a single,  
full-body Cleansing Charm a day, access to a toilet three times a day, three meals  
of the properly sectioned foods a day, one visitor a week, and a monthly haircut if  
they would like one.

Concerns have been raised over the Aurors and their competence in handling these  
rules, and A dozen House Elves under the orders of Madam Bones alone, are to be  
stationed in the building to see everything taken care of and to report any concerns  
they might have about prisoners and Aurors alike.

As for the former prisoners who are hospitalised at present, and the families they  
hail from, the massive lawsuit against the Ministry has gained support in the past  
month alone. It seems Ernest Vaun Pyrites has inherited Minister Fudge's greatest  
blunders and will be under fire if he doesn't fix the situation post haste.

That isn't to say Fudge isn't still in hot water himself. He is included in the charges  
alongside his former Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Jane Umbridge who has been  
suspiciously silent in recent months.

With keen interest in the future,

_Garrison Bespoke,_   
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Task! Expect the unexpected!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Drama and feels.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"So what's Parselmagic?" Bella asked as she held up a book she got from the Chamber of Secrets that was written entirely in Parselscript. Specifically located in the little compartment inside the feet of the Salazar statue that stood at the far end of the ugly Chamber.

Tom blinked in shock at said book, looking bewitched by it and what it could possibly mean for him. "Where did you find that?" he asked, voice full of awe and amazement.

She told him. "Did you not know there was other stuff stored down there? It's not just a bit arse room to hold a big arse snake who is super lonely?"

He shook his head as he carefully handled the old tome so he could see the cover. It was supposedly recorded by Silas Slytherin, whom Salazar's portrait revealed was apparently a 4X Great Grandchild of the real Salazar, who had attended Hogwarts circa 1200 AD..

"Parselmagic is something only Parselmouths may make use of. The memories I received from the Horcruxes I absorbed showed that Voldemort himself acquired some knowledge on it and learned a few spells. I would recommend you do so as well."

"We can learn together!" she suggested, knowing how much it would mean to him to be even closer to his original heritage even just a little bit.

The look of appreciation Tom sent her made her feel just a little faint for some reason.

* * *

Theo watched Bella's friend Tom closely, but not obviously. He was a Slytherin and actually knew how to stalk someone without getting caught while doing it. And when Tomas Night had appeared before them with a charming smile and a handsome face, Theo knew he'd have to watch him.

The first thing of note was that Tomas Night was very mature. Almost priggishly so. But then there were those moments where Bella would engage him in her usual manner, and he would sort of melt. His rejoinders would be almost on par with Bella's childish taunts, proving that he could very easily be snapped out of his attitude by the right person.

It also showed how highly he seemed to view Bella if he was willing to let down his walls for her of all people.

Another thing about Tomas Night, was that he was different than any other soon-to-be seventeen year old Theo had ever seen. He walked like a man with knowledge and confidence. He walked a lot like Xenophon had, but he lacked the hard edges and permanent scowl on his face that Theo's grandfather unabashedly carried into his eighties.

There was something hovering around Tomas Night that made him threatening even if he didn't threaten people to get what he wanted. He was nothing but polite to everyone and he wasn't a Pureblood nor did he firmly side with either the Light or the Dark despite obviously being a Dark Wizard. He seemed to have mixed views, preferring certain parts of each side and wanting to mix them together to create a better Ministry.

He was British and seemed interested in Hermione's many plans and projects. He talked with Bella about her Squib Project and made suggestions for books for her to study up on. He engaged all of them equally(if they excluded Bella since obviously she was his actual friend and he would pay her more attention naturally).

Of course there was a bit of arrogance in Tomas Night's demeanour, but he wasn't obvious with it, and if Theo was being honest, he had a right to it. He was good. Very good. At everything he did. He was an especially good teacher and he didn't verbally attack any of them when they made a mistake during training. He was equally stern and kind, which Theo hadn't thought a possibility before.

Tomas Night didn't terrify Neville which was an indication that he was a decent person. Neville was scared of Moody now, but the young man who'd been raised and taught by Theo's grandfather, didn't even unnerve him a little bit. That spoke volumes to all of them. Prue was still trying to find out what was off about Moody without him finding her fancy Map.

Finally, Tomas Night really cared about Bella. Whatever he felt for her was very obvious in how he spoke to her. All the 'dear Bellas' and 'yes, dearests' kind of gave away his interest even if he himself didn't notice. Blaise and Hermione had noticed and were vaguely threatened by Tom's presence because he was more attractive and more intelligent than both combined. He also seemed to know Bella about as long as they all did so their friendship had time to grow enough for them to tease each other and for Bella to hang all over him like she would any of her other friends.

Hermione's crush on Bella wasn't as strong as Blaise's was. She admired Bella for many reasons, from her work ethic, to her talents, and he intelligence. Blaise grew up with his mum only and Bella reminded Blaise of his mother in a sense. When they were young, Blaise had always said he wanted a wife who was a lot like his mother was, and Bella was so far the only person they'd met who remotely seemed like Moriah Zabini.

It was that fine line between consideration and unrelenting ruthlessness. Lady Zabini cared about children, the rights of the people, and common decency, but she also had no problem with murdering someone or using Dark Magic to get what she wanted. Bella was a Grey Witch with Darker leanings and that had become even more obvious in the last year to all of them. So it was obvious why Blaise liked her so much.

Theo didn't know how he was going to handle Bella not even noticing his interest in the next year. She hadn't noticed anyone's interest yet because she was so focused on work and her hectic schedule. Hopefully Blaise wouldn't be heartbroken over it because Tomas Night would eventually realise that he liked Bella more than just as his friend and he had a better chance than anyone at wooing her.

At least he seemed like a decent person. Not cruel. Not annoying.

* * *

Oh how to handle this! British Nationals was happening the same day as the damn First Task of the TriWizard Tournament. And she couldn't ignore the task so it was all about proper planning in order to get both competitions done and out of the way.

So after conferring with Sirius and B-Man, they'd decided that they best idea was for Bella to leave for Sheffield on 24 November. She and Aaliyah would ride on over, get a room at the hotel, and then wait.

Sirius had the exact address of the hotel so he could get a portkey from Sheffield to the nearest spot the wards of Hogwarts would allow such an entrance, which was beyond the Black Lake unfortunately.

It get even more convoluted from there. After the Short Program and the conferences and stuff, she had to use her Time Turner in the bathroom of their bedroom, to go back to 8 AM, where she would put on her Invisibility Cloak and sneak out to the designated portkey zone Sirius was meeting her at.

It would take them beyond the Black Lake and they'd have until 10 AM to get her prepared for the First Task which she still didn't know anything about because the Tasks always changed from type to type over the history of the tournament.

Once everything was finished, she'd spend some time with her friends, eat some dinner, and then portkey back to Sheffield at 11 PM and make her way back to the hotel where her past self would have returned to. Aaliyah was already away that Bella would disappear at 11 PM and that at 11:05 PM she was to open their hotel room door for Bella when she knocked, completely ignoring that Bella went into the bathroom only minutes prior.

Magic and Time-Travel were just so fun!

It sounded so stressful to the ear. She could only imagine what it'd be like being in the thick of it.

She wasn't ready.

* * *

**How are things going o're yonder?**

_Where did that come from?_

Bella was so confusing sometimes. Mixing old speech patterns and new speech patterns was something she did on the regular, but still. It was just so strange considering what Tom was used to for so long.

**IDK. I used the word 'heretofore' today because it was the first thing to come**   
**to mind. Next to no one knew what it meant. I had managed to make it to the**   
**H section of the thesaurus before the Horcrux hit.**

_Things are fine. Nothing concerning to make note of. Why did you not just spell OVER out_   
_completely?_

It seemed pointless to omit the V.

**Well when I'm writing to you, I'm also saying what I write out loud, and write**   
**the words as I say them. I heard a hymn in passing once and they did not say**   
**the V in OVER so it sounded like OR. So like [or yonder] yk?**

_Hm._

As he didn't care for Christianity, he wouldn't know.

**I'm kinda bored just waited for stuff to happen.**

_Are you certain of your plan for the Task?_

**As certain as I can be. We have no other way to do this so it has be this way.**

_If you say so._

**Meh.**

Bella would work it out because she wasn't an idiot.

* * *

Neville stared down at the Sneakoscope that Theo had gotten him upon Luna's advice. He didn't really know why it was given in the first place, but Theo had stammered something about it ' _being necessary_ ', whatever that meant.

Still, he didn't want to just leave it in his dorm to gather dust. That would be rude.

She he'd been walking around with it in his palm for the past few minutes, wondering what he should do with it, when it began wiggling and low whistles erupted from the holes in the sides at the top.

Most people thought them to be useless little trinkets, but if it was acting up, then someone nearby was doing something untrustworthy.

"Longbottom!"

Oh. Moody was behind him. And none of their group trusted Moody as far as they could throw him.

The creepy, electric blue eye stared down at the Sneakoscope that had only gotten louder and louder. "You might want to get that checked out, son. There's nothing to worry about in Hogwarts with the likes of me and Dumbledore around."

And  _that_  was definitely not something Moody would say! He'd encourage Neville to be vigilant and to protect himself from possible dangers at all times.

What was going on with Moody?

He had to tell his friends!

* * *

"It's a busy day, kiddo. Do you know every little detail of the plan?" asked Aaliyah as she went through the notepad on her mobile.

"Yep. That's why I slept in so much." When her future self would time-travel back to the morning, she'd appear either in the bathroom or the hotel room because that was where Bella had decided to stay. The process was silent and Bella was a heavy sleeper so it would be easy for her to sneak around later.

She was on for placing first in the Short Program, because it was totally going to happen today. She had faith in herself.

* * *

Bella slipped into the bathroom of the hotel room, but didn't lock the door. She pulled her Time Turner out of her pocket and slipped the golden chain over her head. Twelve turns later and she found herself standing in the exact same place, but the light was off.

When she stepped out, she could see the clock on the bedside table telling her it was exactly 8 AM. Her past self was currently sleeping in until ten and wouldn't wake up for another two hours, which gave her time to grab the Invisibility Cloak and get the hell out.

Down the road from the hotel, she met up with Sirius who was standing in a dingy alley and looking as tired as she felt. She'd just lived through an entire day and usually when she time-traveled the first time in a day, it was to sleep. She wasn't going to be sleeping at the moment.

"Bells?" Sirius asked the moment her heard her join him. "There's a muggle-repelling charm around us, you can come out now."

She pulled the cloak off and stuffed it into her bag. "I'm ready." Bedecked in her skating tracksuit and everything, Bella was prepared to go back to Hogwarts and deal with the crap going on there.

"Sorry about this. It was the earliest I could get a Portkey for us to use, and while I  _can_  make one myself, I'm not good enough at it like Dumbledore to be able to make it untraceable. It's illegal without sanction from the Ministry, and simply getting one from the Ministry is hell enough, and I like my legally clean record as it is."

"No, it's fine. I'll live," she assured him.

He held out a blue and red checkered kerchief, something that was actually normal to use as a portkey, and told her, "Hold on tight." A minute later, they appeared outside Hogwarts. Far outside Hogwarts. They were in an alley in Hogsmeade. "It was the  _closest_  I could schedule a portkey, sorry."

"We have to walk  _that distance_?" she asked in resignation, staring up at how far away the castle looked from their location.

"Well," Sirius began, gesturing to something at her right. A Lightningbolt with it's sleek and pale, whitewood staff and carefully carved, grey tail, to be precise. "We don't  _have_  to walk. Flying would get us there pretty quickly."

A full walk would take at least two hours or so and Bella had just had a hell of a day where she'd been on her feet either walking or skating. But she also really hated brooms and didn't trust them!

"I'll be controlling it and you can hold on to me. It'll be fine if you close your eyes and pretend it's a rollercoaster."

This wasn't the time to be picky. She was hungry. She was tired. "Fine."

By the time they touched down at the castle doors, Bella had mostly fallen asleep and had to be dislodged gently. Eyes closed and with a competent person in charge made flying seem a lot less terrifying. She still wouldn't do it on her own, but it wasn't horrible and had actually been kinda relaxing in its own way. Would wonders never cease?

"Get on to breakfast and try not to fall asleep in your mash."

"Hardy har har."

When Bella joined her friends at the table, they all sent her some concerned looks. Her hair had come out of its protective bun a bit and was a little windswept thanks to the broom ride. Her face was a bit damp from sweat because the tracksuit was hot even if it was cold outside. Temperature in Scotland was dropping very quickly by the day and her face was freezing but not the rest of her.

Her limbs were a bit… they felt nonexistent in a sense. Like they resided in an in between place that the rest of her had no access to.

"Are you okay?" It was Tom who had come over to join them. His face was full of concern and displeasure at the sight of her.

"I jogged this morning. Walked everywhere. Had to stand up for a long time. Did my warm ups on the ice. Did my routine which put me in first place unsurprisingly. Stood some more. Had to pander to journalists while standing. I haven't eaten since like noon just to save myself from a possible stomach ache before competing. I feel like a limp noodle with lead legs."

Hermione hummed. "You need bananas and watermelon for energy."

As if summoned, a massive bowl of chopped up fruit appeared in the center of their little part of the Slytherin Table. Within it were chopped up bits of banana, watermelon, papaya, and mangos.

Without hesitating, Hermione started piling a bunch onto Bella's plate. "Healthy, has water and vitamins, and tastes good. Tuck in and then go and take a shower because you look a bit rough. The First Task starts at ten so you should have time."

"As  _if_!" the oh so unwanted yet familiar sound of Parkinson's nasally voice, sounded as she sauntered on by. "She'd need hours to get that flat-chested, boy figure to look halfway decent for the public."

Hermione's hair instantly began sparking like it used to when she was angry all the time at her former House members. When it got all Bride of Frankenstein, that meant bad things. Bella decided to diffuse the situation before Hermione did something to break one of B-Man's rules and get them all into trouble for embarrassing Slytherin.

"Parkinson, I find it a little weird that you spent this much time thinking about my tits."

The surrounding students broke into low guffaws that they were attempting to keep quiet so as not to draw the attention of the other Houses. It was a good thing Slytherin's table was up against the left wall of the room. They only had Ravenclaws and Durmstrang students nearby.

"I'm sorry, but I must inform you that your infatuation with me will remain unrequited for all known time. I'd advise you to keep throwing yourself at Malfoy. He might finally acknowledge your existence one day if you persist on harassing him. I'm sure things'll work out eventually."

The other Slytherins didn't bother holding in their snorts of amusement and Malfoy could be seen shaking his head madly from several seats down Bella's side of the table. He looked like he'd been betrayed.

As for her friends, their reactions were mixed.

Hermione's head was bowed over her notebook and she refused to look up at all. Luna hadn't stopped humming to herself the entire time. Neville's entire face was a dark shade of pink that didn't look healthy. Blaise's head was in his hands and Theowas muffling his laughter by burying his face in Blaise's shoulder.

As for Tom, he merely quirked a perfect brow at her and smiled with genuine amusement. "You should eat because the First Task is not a stationary one and you will not like not having energy for it."

Her eyes narrowed in response. "You know what the Task is already?" How? And why? And who decided that was fair to begin with?

"Of course."

"Um…  _how_?" she demanded. "The eff, dude?"

"Karkaroff told me."

Hermione's jaw dropped in offense at the rules not being followed. "The Champions aren't supposed to get help from professors or officials!"

"Cheating is tradition in the tournament. No one would really know if the Champions were told ahead of time or not and they can't force them into revealing the truth. Besides, no one actually cares that much," Tom explained. "Other than your Headmistress of course. She's most likely too morally decent to ever help even her underage Champions survive a deadly competition they didn't willing become a part of."

When he put it like that, McGonagall sounded heartless as hell. Prue was the youngest at fourteen and she was the least trained out of everybody. And Mickey G hadn't even tried to help her.

One step forward and two steps back for the woman. Every time she did something decent, something else set her back to square one in terms of annoyance.

Bella shoveled some watermelon into her mouth in a hurry. It was a shame that the Time Turner needed a cool-down time of three hours and the portkey could only be used at eight, otherwise she would have used it to get a nap in before the Task at ten.

* * *

The Quidditch Pitch had been converted into what looked like an arena. Bella had never actually been down to the pitch in person and had only seen it from the owlery, but even she noticed the differences. Like the lack of sand or goalposts. Or the weird shape the stands had been created in for the audience to get a better view from high up.

"It's been ruined," she heard Cedric Diggory say forlornly. "I'm never going to forget this injustice."

Prue was nodding along even though she didn't even play for a House Team. Then again, Bella was certain that if she saw a messed up ice rink, she'd be as offended as they were over their sport.

Bagman and Crouch were in the Champion's Tent, ready to greet them and the heads of their schools. Rita Skeeter and her cameraman lurked in a corner of the tent, ready to take photos at any opportunity. They waved in greeting.

"Gather 'round, Champions. We're about to begin the First Task of the TriWizard Tournament and you need a debriefing," said Bagman, holding up five red ribbons that he offered to each Champion. "Please pin those to the robes you'll be given."

The fold reminded Bella of those pink ribbons used on Cancer awareness campaigns mentioned on the internet.

"For this Task you will be dueling each other, but not in a tournament fashion leading up to a single match. Instead you will each duel four times and will be given a score in each to determine how well you did. The goal is not necessarily finishing your duel first, or winning. It's about the magical skill you demonstrate and how many points you are awarded."

And  _that_  was why Tom had been teaching Bella and Prue how to duel better and to think on their feet. He'd been preparing them without expressly telling them what to expect. It was a very Slytherin thing to do, and Bella was touched that he'd offered to teach her friends as well despite having no connection to any of them at all and not needing to.

So by the rules of the Task, they would each get to battle each other at some point no matter what. It wasn't an elimination type of dueling.

"You'll be given points from 1-10, from five judges. The one with the most accumulated points at the end gets a big hint to the Second Task. Second and Third Place will receive minor hints. Fourth and Fifth Place won't receive any hints," Bagman continued, his grin just full of naivety that really annoyed her for some reason. Also she just didn't like him since Ron Weasley had revealed that he didn't pay Fred and George like he was supposed to after their bet and Bella disliked thieves and backstabbers.

The rules were just effin wonderful, weren't they? And because Bella and Prue were the youngest, the others, sans Tom most likely, would assume that they would be in fourth and fifth just because of lack of experience. Bella suddenly had a need to do well. She didn't want to be in the tournament at all, but she didn't like being underestimated. It rubbed her the wrong way and made her competitive side lash out.

Crouch held out his black bowler hat. "Your names have been placed in here. You will each draw a name before each match. Your name will be removed of course, and anyone you've already dueled will be removed as well."

That was a very unfortunate way to determine the pairs. Seemed very lazy in imagination too.

No one but Tom seemed okay with that opinion, but he was a genius so he could probably adapt to any situation without a problem. The rest of them weren't so lucky.

This was gonna suck so much!

"Madam Pomfrey will be on site to administer medical aid if the judges determine that it is needed, so don't worry."

Thank God for small mercies.

"Your dueling robes are in the curtained areas to your left, with your names across the backs. Please add the pins to the left lapel before stepping out of the tent."

* * *

The Champions had to stand by as the officials informed the viewers of exactly what was going down. The Wireless had been set up with commentators so the matches could be broadcasted to the rest of Magical Britain who had decided not to show up. Bella swore that it was a lot like what happened during a skating competition.

Tom was completely at ease with the current events, but he could tell that Bella was tired, Prunella was concerned, and the other two whose names he didn't care about, seemed bored. That simply wouldn't do. Tom would prefer to be taken seriously at all times and for people to watch him in contemplation. Like Dumbledore had been his entire school life and even now.

"Oldest first!" Bagman announced, gesturing to the Hufflepuff who reached into the hat and withdrew a name.

He looked it over and said, "Night."

Well wasn't that just beneficial?

Tom sent the younger teen a smile and moved to join him on the large platform set up in the middle of the pitch.

"The first match of the First Task is between Cedric Diggory who represents Hogwarts, and Tomas Night who represents Durmstrang. Will the crowd give them a little motivation as they take their positions on the platform?" said Crouch dully.

At once, the entire audience burst into screams and applause, no doubt excited to see the proceeds and see where the two schools differed. Cedric was older than Tom in their eyes, but Tom had not only decades to acquaint himself with all the knowledge he'd gathered as a teen, but also extra time to learn more magic while at Durmstrang.

It  _looked_  as if Diggory would win, but Tom planned to change that belief immediately.

He glanced to the side to see Bella and the others seated in chairs quickly provided for them to wait in. She was looking less tired and more interested in what was about to happen than her own well being. She smiled and waved at him while mouthing, 'kick his arse'.

He would have to put on a good show.

"Take your positions and bow," Crouch instructed, stone-faced. They did so, with the blond offering Tom a delicate smile and saying, "May the best man win?"

"Of course."

Crouch lifted his wand to the sky. "When the green sparks erupt, then you may begin. In three… two… one… GO!"

The flash of green and the Hufflepuff was moving, but not well enough. By the time he managed a silent Disarming Charm, Tom had already silently transfigured the entire platform into a block of ice and had stuck his own feet down so he couldn't fall. Diggory's unnecessary movement forward made him slip and caused his knees to connect very loudly, drawing winces of concern from their audience. The spell he'd been casting sailed widely over Tom's right shoulder and out of sight as it dissipated.

As the other teen was down, Tom enchanted the ice on his side of the platform to grow around him until he was blanketed from the neck down to prevent him from moving. He then summoned the other's wand for good measure.

All was silent for a moment, before Crouch announced, "Tomas Night wins his first match. Will the judges give him his scores?"

McGonagall and Maxime gave him a 9 each while Karkaroff and Bagman each gave him a 10. Crouch gave him an 8.

"Mr. Night has earned 46 points in his first duel! And what of Mr. Diggory's points?"

He ended up earning a 2 from each judge and came out with 10 points so far. The blond's face was red with embarrassment as he was released from the ice. Tom could tell that he planned to make it up later on.

This was not going to be entertaining for Tom personally.

* * *

Crouch reached into the hat and withdrew the name of the next duelist. "Prunella Potter, come and select your opponent."

Prue took a deep breath to try and calm her rapidly pounding heart, and accepted the pat on the shoulder she got from Bella as she went to join the man on the platform. When she reached into the hat, she could feel the different pieces of parchment and chose the one with the jagged edges.

"Ah. Ms. Delacour, please come and join your opponent," said Crouch with a sweep of the arm.

Of course Prue had to fight the French Veela, right? Oh she who walked around flaunting her looks and deliberately riling up those who fell for them so easily. Then getting angry when they dared to ask her out. Prue was heavily reminded of Lily's vanity, which was why she did not like Fleur Delacour.

"I will beat you, leetle gurl!" Fleur said snidely, and Prue knew it was going to end up like  _that_ , wasn't. A cat fight Prue wanted no part in. Fleur was a damn Veela, she shouldn't be putting herself in all these ridiculous beauty competitions when anyone bewitched by her appearance would obviously choose her over others any time.

"Whatever. Can we get this going?"

Crouch looked between them for a moment, before gesturing for the usual duel stances.

"Three... two... one... GO!"

Fleur started it off with a  **Flame Charm**  that Prue stepped out of the way of. If there was one thing she'd learned from Bella's friend, it was to not stand still. And if she could simply step out of the way of an attack instead of using magic, than she should do so to save up her energy for later.

The blonde of course did not like that, and shot something else at Prue that she actually didn't know because this one was done silently. She had no choice but to pull up a Protego which turned the sudden barrage of what looked like stones, into ash upon contact.

Prue decided to fight back by aiming a silent  **Bombarda**  at the Veela's feet, following behind it quickly by rapidly transfiguring the rubble around her into massive shards of glass via one of the few, interesting spells she picked up from reading once. If she could limit Delacour's escape routes and have her split her attention between Prue and not damaging her precious feet, Prue would have a better chance at ending everything quickly.

She followed up the transfiguration with several deliberately hurried  **Reductors**  in order to force the blonde into moving this way and that to avoid getting hit but to also force her into stepping on the broken glass that pointed toward the grey sky in jagged spikes. Her trainers didn't seem like they'd be capable of protecting her feet at all.

As expected, Fleur did so eventually, her left foot sinking down on a particularly large piece of glass that forced the Veela cry out and lose any footing she had left. She collapsed into the mess of glass, catching herself with her hands but also injuring them in the process.

Prue looked toward Crouch. "She can't use her hands right now, nor can she stand. Do I win? She should be getting some help of those wounds will become infected and she could lose mobility of her hands."

He looked toward the rest of the judges, who all nodded insistently.

"Ms. Delacour is in need of Healing, Madam Pomfrey, House Elves escort the Beauxbatons Champion to the Healer's Tent."

Two Elves popped into being near the blonde. The first snapped its fingers to vanish the glass, and the other took hold of the Veela and popped away to get her some help.

"Ms. Delacour's scores?"

Maxime was frowning heavily as she held up a 5. McGonagall joined her, looking mildly unnerved. Karkaroff and Bagman both held up a 3 each, and Crouch settled for the middle with a solid 4.

"Ms. Delacour earned 20 points in her first duel! And Ms. Potter's score?"

Karkaroff gave her a 6 while the remaining judges awarded her sevens. Which was actually pretty good if she was being honest.

"Ms. Potter has earned 34 points in her first duel! Can we get a round of applause for both Champions?!"

The crowd went from concerned mutters to what seemed to be reluctant applause. Prue knew she wasn't the favourite and that a lot were rooting for her to fail, so she wasn't that bothered by their reactions.

She moved to join Bella again, and received a pat on the back and a, "Well done," which made her feel a lot better. Her heart had finally calmed by now.

Crouch reached into the hat again and pulled out a familiar parchment that made her stomach sink with cold dread. "Prunella Potter, Please come back up here. As you have already dueled Ms. Delacour, her name will be removed and this will leave you the other three. Please choose carefully."

She ended up getting Tomas Night, and Prue knew she would lose terribly as her heart rate sped up once again.

* * *

Before Bella even got to duel, Prue had already dueled everyone else. And it seemed kind of unfair if she was being honest. Prue dueled three times in a row. How was that even possible?

Crouch pulled a name from the hat. "Belladonna Potter, you're up next to choose your opponent!"

The brunette took a deep breath and stood. She wanted it to be Fleur. Mostly because she had already fought once at least, and was only just recovering from Prue's duel with her. Prue hadn't gone easy in the least and Bella was proud. Sometimes being older was not the best way to measure your skills against others. Hopefully Fleur learned that because Bella was a far harsher duelist than Prue was.

She reached into the hat and fingered the oddly jagged piece of parchment.

"Ms. Delacour," said Crouch, and Bella tried so very hard to not let her pleasure be seen!

The two took their places, the blonde lacking the cocksure attitude she'd had from before. Losing to a fourteen year old had to have burned her terribly. They bowed as customary and took their positions as they waited for Crouch to begin the match.

No words were exchanged between them. Delacour had learned her lesson it seemed.

"GO!"

§ ** _Serpensortia Tria!_** § Bella hissed, summoning three cobras. § ** _Engorgio!_** §

At once, the three began to grow in size until they towered over Bella's now meagre height. Their eyes and fangs glistened in the poor lighting the sky was giving them. The hoods were flared threateningly, and from between their coils she could see Fleur's face turn into a horrified expression of terror and hopelessness. It was beautiful, and Bella allowed a small smirk to show. She didn't always enjoy her ability to terrifying others. It was a concerning desire of hers that she tried quelling most of the time.

§ ** _Get the Veela, but don't kill or eat her!_** § she ordered the snakes, who hissed their agreement and lunged far faster than Bella would have expected of them at their new size.

Fighting against Parselmagic was difficult, or so the book from the Chamber had told her. It could do so much because it was technically a magical language. Every part of it held magic of its own which was why it could be used to set passwords and such. Performing magic with it was like a double whammy.

It was over rather quickly as Fleur was surrounded, and while she managed to take a massive chunk out of one snake, the other two converged upon her too quickly for her to defend against. She was buried under their bodies and her wand rolled away amidst the chaos, and slipped off the platform entirely.

"Ms. Potter, could you call them off, please? You've won," Crouch said with constant shaking of his hand.

§ ** _Vipera Evanesca!_** § she added, causing the bodies of the snakes to vanish in three plumes of black smoke. Fleur was revealed to be curled into a ball, protecting her head from danger. She looked up, showing tear streaked cheeks and a harried appearance.

"Ms. Potter wins her first match! The judges' scores?"

A 7 from McGonagall, two 9s from Maxime and Karkaroff, a 10 from Bagman, and a 3 from Crouch. She sent the man a death glare because she knew very well why he gave her a low score and his bigotry would not be forgotten.

"Ms. Potter has earned 38 points in her first match! The scores for Ms. Delacour's second match?"

Fleur ended up with 10 points.

So maybe the duels weren't so bad after all.

* * *

Bella ended up going again, against Diggory. Oh he who was fine as hell. Not as good looking Tom but he could get it.

Diggory put up more of a fight than Delacour did and he was all smiles the entire duel. He was the most Hufflepuff person she'd ever met beside Lewis on the muggle side.

Bella was disarmed five minutes in, but she still had Parselmagic on her side and had him bound, gagged with snakes, and wandless in return, quite quickly. It had been an interesting match to say the least.

Diggory ended up getting 38 points in total. Bella walked away with 45 points with Crouch being the only one to give her a 5 among the lot of judges. He was on his way to harsh beating and she didn't give a damn if it ended up being connected to her. She would enjoy hurting him  _very much_.

Diggory ended up having to stay on to fight Fleur right afterward. He lost that match and ended up with 30 points while Fleur finally got a good amount at 42 points.

Tom was up next and he drew Bella's name. He smiled at her differently than he had for the others. With them it seemed more like tolerance. With her it seemed like friendliness.

"Are you ready, dear Bella?" he murmured in a low aside.

She smirked. "Bring it, Mr Tom A Dildo Lover."

And Bella had the distinct pleasure of watching Tom's face turn pink at hearing those words said aloud. It was a beautiful moment that was thoroughly ruined by Crouch who announced the beginning of their match before they'd even gotten ready.

To survive against Tom, Bella had to use Parselmagic because Tom wouldn't be able to use it himself in front of everyone. He was trying to lay low and not connect himself to Voldemort so no one outside would know of his true origins.

This gave her the upper hand in a way, but he had endless amounts of experience on his side and was overall a better duelist than Bella was.

* * *

Dueling Bella was the most interesting out of everyone. Her mind came up with so many ideas at once that it was impressive she'd managed to keep up with herself. She just consistently moved from one thing to the next, trying her best to corner him so he couldn't fight back.

He did obviously but he was more interested in seeing what she had up her sleeve as she flashed between Parselmagic and English casting to try and get the upper hand.

Their duel lasted the longest, with Tom deliberately holding back just a bit so he could see how far she'd managed to come since she started her excess training on the tenth. With how her schedule had been, Bella had lived out 960 hours in a 384 hour time frame. That was 40 days lived in 16 days. That required a lot of mental discipline to keep up with.

He'd never met anyone who worked as hard as Bella, and that was why he'd given her a chance to showcase her skills. So that everyone could see that while she cared very much for her muggle upbringing, she paid attention to her magical life as well and took it seriously. It would also earn her more respect in Slytherin House as she demonstrated her Parselmagic capabilities.

In the end, he'd won the duel after sticking her tongue to the roof of her mouth and summoning her wand. But it had been a duel worth remembering. he'd even made note of all the ways she could improve and intended to share his notes with her at a later date.

Tom received full marks with 50 points, as expected. Bella received 40, with Crouch giving her no points at all.

Now Tom wasn't one for spontaneity but he was annoyed, and he was also quick enough on his feet to think of something right in that moment to save his reputation from what he was about to say.

"I am grateful for such a considerable score, but I have to say something," Tom began, adding a  **Sonorus**  to his voice so everyone could hear him while he addressed the Ministry man personally. "You have deliberately given Bella terrible scores this entire time because she's using Parselmagic. Because she is a Parselmouth. Something she was born as and cannot control.

"Your prejudice against Slytherin, even when it was publicly revealed to your entire community that Salazar Slytherin did not hate muggleborns and did not want them dead, is revolting. Good and Evil are based upon intent and as a language can in no way express intent, it cannot be Evil. As of this day and age, forty-three countries across across the globe, have Parselmouths. It is not a British only ability and it's very arrogant of you to assume otherwise. Parseltongue is revered in those other countries while here it is regarded as a Dark ability, which is the most foolish tripe I have ever heard."

The entire audience was dead silent, and Bella was watching him with wide eyes. Crouch shifted uncomfortably at being the center of such unpleasant attention once again in his pathetic life.

"You hate Slytherins because you hate Dark Magic and you are blindly associating Dark Magic with Evil, and Slytherins with both. Let us call it as it is. You are a bigot and you disgust me. I don't want your ten points. I refuse to accept them. And to give you a chance to change your grading, I'll tell you a secret." He then leaned in as if divulging something only between them despite the fact that the  **Sonorus**  was still active. "I'm not related to Bella at all," a lie, "and I am a Parselmouth as well, who simply isn't trained in Parselmagic."

The crowd gasped, and Crouch's hideous mustache twitched as his eyes went wides than a saucer

"So,  _sir_ ," Tom continued scornfully, with a smile that could fell both angels  _and_  demons, "do you wish to mark me down and prove me correct about your bias during what is supposed to be an unbiased event?"

Crouch said nothing, and that was fine. Tom had just thoroughly ruined his reputation even more than what had been left after his failures from imprisoning people unjustly, had been revealed.

Tom sent the rest of the judges a look and innocently asked, "I only received 40 points in this match, yes?"

The other four judges looked at one another undecided, and eventually nodded to him.

When he and Bella rejoined the other Champions, he wrapped a single arm around her shoulders. "Not what I had planned when going into this," he murmured into her hair which smelled faintly of flowers again. "Yet I could not allowed him to be a bigot when it was obvious no one else would stand up to him over it. You did a fine job and deserved more points than you got the entire time."

Bella smiled sweetly at him, and Tom felt very warm everywhere all of a sudden.

"Thanks, Tom."

* * *

In the end, Tom won the First Task with a total of 179 points. Bella came in second with 169 points. Prue came in third with 137 points. Diggory came in fourth with 133 points. Fleur came in last with 101 points. If they didn't consider Tom because of course he would win, the rest of the scores and the lineup were shocking.

The three youngest were directly in the top three, and the two youngest were second and third respectively. How interesting that the two oldest were the ones with the lowest scores.

Bagman made certain to hand each of the three a piece of parchment that supposedly had a hint to the next Task. Tom would get the best hint of course, because he was in first place. Bella's hint was 'bark' which wasn't much of a hint at all.

"Belladonna Potter?"

She looked around for the source of the new voice, and found herself looking up at a woman with skin like Aaliyah's, a plethora of dark braids that were piled atop her head, and eyes like dark ocher. Her robes were a refined blue and cranberry, and looked more modern than what British Magicals wore. She was unfamiliar to Bella, but had an accent that was most likely from the US. She heard it on the telly before.

"Yes?"

The woman extended a hand in greeting and smile with large, white teeth. "I'm Subira Picquery, Headmistress of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

_Woah_. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Picquery," Bella answered, shaking the woman's hand.

"I wanted to get a moment of your time."

* * *

Hermione watched as Bella disappeared with the representative from Ilvermorny. Hermione had so many questions she wanted to ask the woman and she'd have to wait patiently in order to ask them!

"It'll be fine," Tom said, as he neared their group. "Picquery has a good name and reputation. She's known for being forthright, so it won't take too long before Bella's back with you. Mind you, she will have to go back to her competition so she won't be lingering for very long either. Just enough time for supper and some free time afterward."

That was right. It was the British Nationals and Bella had already been through a whole day of work before time-traveling back here. And it was four hours before dinner, and she'd been awake for a long time. She'd need to go back and rest.

The Tournament was really an unneeded amount of stress added to the girl's shoulders. If Hermione ever found out who entered her, she'd destroy them.

* * *

Tom hummed a song he'd heard Bella humming at some point, while he wrote down the names and ages of the Death Eaters currently in prison. There were two hundred and seventeen marked Death Eaters inside Azkaban at this very moment, and Voldemort was out there planning on regaining his power at some point. The first thing to do, in Tom's mind of course, would be to break his followers out of prison and go about his attempts at domination again once he got a working body of his own.

Common sense really.

Well, to Tom's sane mind it was basic logic, though he wasn't certain if Voldemort could even plan that far along now considering how messed up in the mind he had to be. But Tom wasn't going to take the chance!

When he'd told Bella that he planned to see all the Death Eaters dead, he hadn't been lying. Until now he hadn't had much of a plan on how to see to that, but now with Azkaban having been refurbished in a sense, and there were no Dementors, it would be very easy to get in and out without being detected.

Tom's skills had range and power. One thing he'd already worked out with his time at Durmstrang, was his Animagus form, and would wonders never cease, he was a snake. Not a magical snake unfortunately, but the breed was venomous which was good enough for him. King Cobras were more than just temperamental snakes with fancy hoods. They could take down a grown elephant with a bite, and that meant humans could be taken down too. And for humans who are locked away and not often checked up on by their Auror guards, it was the perfect way to go about limiting Voldemort's forces! And cursing snake venom wasn't easy if the cure wasn't immediately on hand.

Some might consider his plan evil. How could he possibly kill so many people without a care for what it would mean? Well, they were foolish enough to follow a madman who couldn't even admit what he was fighting for while ordering them around. Meaning there was no guarantee that Voldemort truly believed what his followers did. And they followed him even without some kind of just reasoning?

A majority of them were Slytherins, but what Slytherin just took things at face value? It was such a disappointment.

They decided to do as Voldemort bid them, and that meant selling their souls essentially, to his control. Voldemort tried to kill Bella, and his followers would gladly follow in his footsteps in his plans for her. They deserved what they would get, and when it came to caring about them, Tom couldn't be arsed.

* * *

** THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT HAS BEGUN! FIRST TASK CONCLUDED! **

The results of the First Task of the TWT are in, my dear readers! Durmstrang  
pulls ahead in this competition with their Champion Tomas Night, leading his  
fellow competitors! It should be noted that the young man has been humble  
about his victory, though he seems contemptuous of Barty Crouch Sr..

The Ministry official did nothing but award him quite handsomely throughout  
the Task, but Tomas Night decided that meant nothing if he was going to be  
prejudiced to other competitors. Yes, dear readers, Mr. Night accused Crouch  
of prejudice against Belladonna Potter because she chose to make use of her  
Parseltongue ability in using Parselmagic, a branch of magic that we thought  
to be dead.

And then in a shocking action, Mr. Night refused to accept the points Crouch  
awarded him in his duel against Belladonna Potter. He then revealed that he  
too was a Parselmouth, even though he is unrelated to the Potter twins. And  
that him being one would obviously mean Crouch would not award him any  
points either, just like he hadn't for Belladonna in that duel.

Another shocking piece of information is that there are Parselmouths all over  
the world. Salazar Slytherin was apparently not the first and over forty other  
countries have Parselmouths. Why have we gone this long without knowing?  
And why is it only viewed as an evil ability in our community when all others  
hold it in high regard?

As for the rest of the competitors, it was a shock to us all when Belladonna  
Potter came in Second Place still, despite being unfairly judged by Crouch in  
every duel she had. And the Girl Who Lived was in the middle at Third Place.  
The three youngest competitors in this competition were all in the top three,  
in order of age and the two eldest who had the most experience, were in the  
very bottom with Cedric Diggory coming in Fourth Place, and Fleur Delacour  
coming in last at Fifth Place.

On a side note, Prunella Potter was wearing a pin from Mahoutokoro on her  
dueling robes, and Belladonna Potter met with Ilvermorny's Headmistress.  
It seems as if those schools support their unexpected addition to the tourney.

The top three Champions were given hints toward the next Task and I'm sure  
we are all curious as to what awaits them in the future. Will Barty Crouch Sr.  
continue this bigoted road that he's on and cause even more drama, thereby  
putting all of Magical Britain in a negative light?

Keep reading The Daily Prophet to find out!

_Rita Skeeter,_   
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The good, the bad, and the stressful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -All kinds of drama await! ^-^

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Prue hummed as she flicked back and forth between the two books laid out on her designated desk in her dorm. She was the only one there at present and it gave her enough time to look things over. The books were borrowed from the library and had to do with the TWT.

The hint she'd been given had been ' _bark_ '. That was it. Not very helpful in the least. With Bella gone, Night being a sly bastard who didn't give straight answers, and the other two Champions being too intimidating and annoying to approach, this was all on Prue to find out by herself.

According to the old recountings of the Tournament, the Second Task involved the Champions being given a list of something(s), and then having to go on a hunt and retrieve the item(s) thereon. In years past this had taken place in the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, and the castle itself.

So basically, if she took what she knew already, plus the info in the book, she would guess the Task took place somewhere in the Forest. Trees had bark. That didn't mean she  _wanted_  it to be in the forest. She'd even take a scavenger hunt for a Cerberus over what could possibly be done in the Forbidden Forest. It was far easier to find a three-headed dog in Hogwarts than one would think!

Maybe the Task had to do with three-headed dogs  _in_  the Forbidden Forest!

That wasn't a better idea, she refused to consider it any further.

The Second Task often had deadly creatures involved though, so she should familiarise herself with the information about as many as possible. And maybe ask Alesandese if she knew anything about how to fight other magical creatures. A thousand year old Basilisk had to have some kind of information, right?

* * *

Bella held up her gold medal for the camera. "So I got this recently, as many of you are probably aware. To celebrate this, plus reaching one million subscribers on YouTube and five hundred thousand followers on Twitter, I decided to do a Q&A. All you had to do was ask your questions under the Twitter post I made, and then Aaliyah will pick and choose what to answer for this video."

She'd posted about the upcoming Q&A three days ago to get ready for this moment, so everything was already set up. Aaliyah had been the one to insist that she read off the questions. Something about maintenance and 'protecting her mental health'. Not everything written under her post was nice and she'd prefer that Bella not see the negative stuff.

They were both seated on Bella's bed, covered in pajamas and blankets. The tripod was set up and ready to move at any time because there were those times when she was asked to play something on the piano and the keyboard was set up on the other side of the room just in case they needed to shift the camera angle.

"Ready, kiddo?" Aaliyah asked as she pulled up Bella's Twitter on Bella's laptop.

"Yep!" Deborah was apparently good at editing and she'd go over the footage when they were finished and determine what was best to keep and what should be left out. Both she and Aaliyah knew how to cultivate an audience better than Bella did so she had no problem letting them help out. Also, Bella's generation had easier chances to grow a loyal fanbase, but the older generation knew how to interact properly to get decent exposure without over-sharing.

 

> **Q:**  What do you use on your hair?
> 
> **A:**  Anything Aaliyah gets. Doesn't matter what it is, my hair is very adaptive.  
>  Except hair gels. Those do not seem to work very well for me, so I don't use  
>  them. But when it comes to brands, and this isn't promo btw, it doesn't seem  
>  to matter what I use. I get the same results every time.
> 
> **Q:**  Why is mastering the cantilever so important to you?
> 
> **A:**  It's a very difficult figure skating manoeuvre and not many people bother  
>  to even attempt it. It's not the most flattering of positions, but the work that  
>  goes into a successful Cantilever is impressive. Peak Physical Condition and  
>  intense training to pull it off and I'd love to add it to my routines. I can think  
>  of so many things to do with it added to my repertoire and it would look cool  
>  too.
> 
> **Q:**  Did you see about the final game in the Arkham trilogy?
> 
> **A:**  YES I DID AND I AM EXCITED! Though sad that Mr. J is gone.
> 
> **Q:**  Do you have a Vine acc?
> 
> **A:**  No, sorry. I see Vines everywhere though, but I don't think I'd be the kind  
>  of person who could do it. Unless I'd post just 6 second clips of figure skating  
>  moves, but I doubt people'd care about that.
> 
> **Q:**  Did you see the new Godzilla movie that came out this year?! It got me to  
>  watch the old ones again!
> 
> **A:**  No. I didn't hear anything about a new Godzilla film, hold on. Wikipedia is  
>  our friend. Okay! So the promotional image looks quite good. I am pulling up  
>  the trailer on YouTube now, give me a sec.  **[a few minutes later]**  I want to  
>  see it. Aaliyah, is it on DVD yet? Cool! I will accept this only for Christmas if  
>  you're down for that! If not I'll just buy it myself.
> 
> **Q:**  Can you play the Sailor Moon Theme on the piano pls?
> 
> **A:**  Never heard that before, give me a mo. YouTube is our friend. Where are  
>  my headphones? Oh my God, it's so 90s! I love it. I honestly don't watch any  
>  anime because I either never have no time or am just interested in other stuff.  
>  Okay, I think I can do it, Aaliyah, will you get the camera situated for me?
> 
> **Q:**  Do you speak any other languages?
> 
> **A:**  No, sorry. Aaliyah has insisted that I know basic BSL though. I know basic  
>  conversational stuff and finger-spelling right now so I can still say hi to you if  
>  that's necessary.
> 
> **Q:**  Are you excited for Hannibal S3?
> 
> **A:**  YES! MY BODY IS READY! Mizumono hurt me so much and I need healing  
>  tbh. I need it like I need air!
> 
> **Q:**  What's your fave food?
> 
> **A:**  That's tricky. Between chocolate bars, treacle tart, and chips with pickles.  
>  I have unhealthy interests and need to be monitored so much IstG.
> 
> **Q:**  Are you and Sandra Lewis friends now? I saw some pics of you together at  
>  nationals and you looked like you were having fun.
> 
> **A:**  Yes. She is a very positive person inside and out.
> 
> **Q:**  Do you have a boyfriend yet?
> 
> **A:**  I do not have a significant other and don't really think I've got the time in  
>  my life to handle one. Also, while I've certainly begun to notice the attractive  
>  features of those around me, their looks have inspired no desire for romance.
> 
> **Q:**  Can you sing?
> 
> **A:**  Oh God no! A lot of people think that if you can dance(meaning that you  
>  have rhythm) then you must be good at singing and instruments and that is  
>  not the case. I haven't tried playing any other instruments so I don't know if  
>  I'd do well for those when I'm not interested in them. Many people can take  
>  all the musical courses they want and will never carry a tune with their voice  
>  but could learn an instrument. It's unfair to expect people to just know any  
>  art just because they are good at one of two in particular.

* * *

**Prue,**

**We're very proud of how you did in the First Task of the Tournament! I was listening**  
**while cleaning the house and was so worried for you and Belladonna, but am relieved**  
**that you both did so well, especially for your age!**

**Arthur wanted me to tell you that he had full faith that you'd be in the Top 3, and he**  
**even placed a few bets at work on it. I'm not happy with him about that, but his faith**  
**did win him some gold that he's hoping to use on a trip to see Bill this summer. So I**  
**can't complain too much.**

**Don't overwork yourself! Your sister seems to be the kind who does that often and I**  
**do not want you to feel like you need to be exactly like her. Just because George and**  
**Fred mimic each other does not mean all twins have to. And while I do find her to be**  
**a good example to follow in many areas, this one I am a little concerned about. Be**  
**mindful of how much work you're putting in every day, please?**

**I received a note from Professor Dumbledore on your grades. He's said that you've**  
**managed to raise your overall performance in most classes. Practical Competence is**  
**up by 43%! I know you struggle to pay attention to things that bore you but I just**  
**wanted you to know that we are proud of the effort you are putting in and that it is**  
**being recognised! I'm making you a jumper for Christmas to celebrate. What colour**  
**would you like?**

**On the side, I've sent over a box for Ron, could you please give it to him? It contains**  
**the robes he'll be wearing for the Yule Ball. They once belong to Aunt Tessy and were**  
**the nicest we have in storage. You may find that hard to believe when you look upon**  
**them, but I promise they were the least embarrassing among the lot! They're also the**  
**most current when it comes to fashion. The rest are a few centuries old, these are a**  
**century at the most.**

**With love,**  
**Mrs. Weasley.**

* * *

He burned everywhere! It had been ages since he'd been put through the Cruciatus, but he understood why it was necessary. He'd missed the last meeting with his Lord because he'd gotten side-tracked with the drama going on in the school. It had been too long since he'd come back to talk to the man. And his Lord wasn't pleased.

The pain stopped and Barty was left in blissful numbness for the moment, wishing it would last forever.

"Take this as a reminder to never ignore me again, Barty," his Lord nearly hissed, anger prevalent still.

"Of course, my Lord!" Barty gasped, the sensations creating turmoil within him.

"Now speak."

"My Lord, the Tournament has yielded information I never would have expected," Barty said as he gingerly knelt before the Dark Lord's ready to update the man personally. He only had a few hours to pull this off and had been compiling information since their last meeting. A month was a lot of time for anything to happen, and  _so much had happened_! Missing their last meeting on Hallowe'en should be excusable in his mind because a lot was going on in Hogwarts right now.

The near-defenceless form of his master continued to watch him with unnerving but familiar red eyes. The long and bony fingers tapped lightly on Nagini's scales. "And what information is that, Barty?" His voice was high and whisper-like. It made him nervous and yet also inspired feelings of admiration still. Or Barty was just terribly attracted to power no matter the form it resided in.

"Belladonna Potter seems to be well-versed in Parselmagic. She used it primarily in her duels during the First Task."

That had been the very first shock to him as he watched from the stands. It had been years since he'd seen his Lord use Parselmagic and he'd been a little emotional over hearing Parseltongue again so soon, even if it came from his Lord's enemy. It was an obscure branch of magic that only a certain group of magical people could learn to use, so of course being a little jealous and amazed wasn't shocking.

"Where would she even begin to learn Parselmagic?" Lord Voldemort demanded, his face twisting in displeasure. "I hadn't learned about it until after I graduated from Hogwarts!"

"Perhaps Salazar's portrait taught her?" Barty suggested since it was the only reason he could think of. There was no one else around that was trained in the Art of Parselmagic so Salazar would be the only viable option.

The Dark Lord's small hands tightened into bony fists. "Pardon? Are you telling me Salazar's portrait has been  _found_?"

Something dangerous in his tone made Barty concerned, and he chose his words more carefully afterward so as to avoid any displeasure his Lord may wish to demonstrate. "Yes, my Lord. The Founders are hanging in the Entrance Hall now and have been for some time it seems. Perhaps the girl had spoken with him and learned from him."

"More like she learned of the Chamber of Secrets and ended to exploring it! This is unacceptable!"

Barty chose not to argue. Mostly because he didn't necessarily agree. She was the Gaunt Heiress and while his Lord was older, her line was from Morfin Gaunt who had been the Heir in his time. She had more of a right than any Slytherin did to make use of their family's history and abilities.

"I learned that she and her twin were not the only Parselmouths in the tournament however, my Lord. The Durmstrang Champion revealed that he too was a Parselmouth even though he claims no relation to the Potter girls. He even revealed there are 43 countries who have living Parselmouths today. He took umbrage to my father wrongly judging Potter's use of Parselmagic and refused to accept his points because if he wouldn't award a Parselmouth their rightful points, then the boy shouldn't take any points from him either." It had been a beautiful moment, to see a boy with knackers of brass, tearing his old father down for his ridiculous prejudice against a school House.

There was silence in the room for the span of exactly seven seconds, before his Lord demanded, "Who is this boy, Barty?"

"Tomas Night," he revealed. "He's about to turn seventeen on 31 December. Karkaroff is currently his guardian and he is terrified of the boy for some reason. The boy is nothing but calm, collected, and respectful. He called my father out on his prejudice against Slytherins during his match against Belladonna Potter where she was downgraded for using Parselmagic. He'd been giving her low scores the entire Task for it and Mr. Night did not seem to appreciate that, so he called him out for it and refused to accept the 10 points the man had awarded him for his work. Tore him down in the most respectful manner possible, and it was glorious, my Lord."

It had been an impressive tongue lashing. Barty had not been in Slytherin himself, but he always believed the hatred for Slytherins was ridiculous. Magical Britain liked to pat itself on the back for being well-adjusted and ' _accepting_ ' yet conveniently forgot that half of Slytherin was made up of muggle-raised people who knew nothing about magic when they first came to the school. It was so convenient how they all managed to forget that bit of information when attacking those who came from that House.

And now their newest Minister was the biggest Anti-Slytherin git to walk the Earth and he wanted to completely remove the House from the school's history entirely. It was all ridiculous and the amount of followers he had made Barty want to strangle them all.

"I want you to find out more about this Tomas Night, Barty. I want a photo of him. I have a feeling he might not be as truthful about his relations to Belladonna Potter, as he'd lead others to believe. And I have a feelings that he and I know each other a lot better than he knows her."

Oh dear.

"Anything else to report, my faithful?"

"I never got to tell you the results of me using the Imperius Curse on the students, my Lord," Barty regretfully reminded the wizard.

"Ah yes, do explain Prunella Potters experience." The man's glee would have to be ruined.

Barty bit his twitching lip, knowing his Lord wouldn't like the answer but unsure of what would happen to  _him_  as a result of it. "It... didn't affect her at all my Lord. She simply said 'No' to my suggestion for her to jump on my desk, and then she returned to her seat without hesitation." It had been something he'd never seen before, and it had been amazing. Even though she was the enemy, it was still impressive to walk off the effects of the curse when someone competent had cast it.

His Lord's bulbous eyes went wide. "Nothing? From the girl who _isn't_  the Girl-Who-Lived?"

"Yes, my Lord," Barty confirmed, still beside himself over it.

"And what of the  _real_  Girl-Who-Lived? What was Belladonna's reaction under the Imperius?"

That was where he had to pause for a moment and consider how he was to word this. He was still unsure of what exactly it meant himself, and he didn't know how his Lord would handle the information either. Barty hadn't ever seen anything like it before.

"I'm not sure how to describe it. There was an affect of some sort. She definitely heard the order to jump on the desk, but then appeared to hear something else. It was like an argument was happening inside her mind and she kept looking from side to side. Toward me when the order to jump was repeated, and then toward something else a second later. She looked baffled and pained, but ended up just standing there the entire time, clutching her chest as her... eyes turned crimson and her pupils became slitted."

His Lord remained quiet in the moments following this revelation, a look on contemplation on his wrinkled face.

"Barty, have you seen Belladonna Potter holding a small, black book or a green and gold locket?"

Yes. He had. "She wears Salazar's locket, my Lord."

The Dark Lord took a very noticeable and deep breath that spoke volumes of his frustration. He looked ready to commit murder and Barty could feel the cold dread creeping down his spine. "And  _how_  did she come upon it, Barty?"

"Sirius Black found it in his family's Ancestral Home, and gave it to her because he thought it looked like something a Slytherin would wear. One of Potter's friends revealed it to be Salazar's Locket, and she was the one to find their portraits and helped get them put up again. The girl wears the Locket on random days and there is no pattern from what I've seen."

"...Very well. Is that all, Barty?"

"Not quite, my Lord."

"What  _else_  is there?"

So much.

* * *

Prue hadn't seen Moody all day. The Map said he was in his office/rooms. But all day? The only positive was that Crouch wasn't with him this time though.

Still, she'd been thinking. Crouch and Moody had been hanging out in his office for weeks. She'd caught them every single time she looked at the Map. She didn't trust either man, and neither did Bella or her friends. Or Tomas Night either. Especially not after he stood up for Bella so heroically while putting his own position in the Tournament on the line.

Crouch was a bigot. Everyone knew this. Moody was obsessive over Dark Wizards and Dark Arts and all those 'super evil' things. They worked together back during the war to put away all kind of people. They were like a match made in heaven.

So Prue's belief was that they were working together somehow to try and bring down everyone they thought deserved it. That included Karkaroff, Bella, and now maybe Night since he'd opened his mouth and Moody had been watching him a lot lately. Probably because of the Parselmouth revelation.

Anyway, she'd decided to visit the man's office/rooms under the guise of needing training advice all so she could get a good look at his personal space. However she was stood outside the room for several minutes and she knew that freaky eye worked and that he would know she was there, so it was like he was ignoring her presence.

Fed up with waiting and deciding the detention really didn't scare her, Prue cast an  **Alohomora**  on the door and it popped open. And Moody was nowhere to be seen. Not much could have changed in the minutes of her taking a secret passage from the seventh floor to his floor.

" **Revelio.** "

Nothing under Disillusionment or a normal Invisibility Cloak. The spell had picked up nothing but her.

She pulled out the Marauder's Map once more and hissed the password. The words, ' **Alastor Moody** ' popped up slightly to her right, but there was nothing there but a large, black trunk and a very expensive Foe Glass on the wall.

Upon closer inspection of Moody's Foe Glass, faces of her ' _enemies_ ' began appearing with shadows cast over their eyes, obscuring them entirely. But Prue could tell who a few of them were. Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew, and Lucius Malfoy. Meaning the incredibly pale man in the center of them that had no other notable features, had to be their master, the biggest enemy of all. Another man was there too, off to the side, though his mousy, gaunt features were unfamiliar to her.

Not even an outline of their eyes were visible, meaning they were nowhere near her location at present.

It was just a normal Foe Glass and it did its job well.

Just as she was deciding that there had to be something wrong with the Map, the black trunk began shaking from side to side and a loud scream filled the room, causing her to jerk back in a mix of shock, fear, and confusion.

She'd never seen anything like it before. It was a trunk but unlike any usually sold for use in transport. And there was something inside it.

She should have gotten Ron to come with her! At least she wouldn't be alone in a creepy man's room!

But she wanted to know what was up with the weird trunk!

Cursing her curiosity, Prue stomped forward and waved her wand at the lock. The lid snapped open and multiple clicks followed as another locked unlocked and another lid opened. She counted seven repetitions of this before the last lid was open, leaving a dark hole for her to look in.

A man was inside. It was a magically extended trunk that held a man with stringy, red hair, in an ugly house coat and lacking an eye that wasn't the most obvious issue on his scarred face.

"Hello?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"Who're you?" Prue asked. "And why are you in this thing?"

"Alastor Moody. I was attacked by Barty Crouch Jr.. Get me out of here!" the malformed man insisted.

What the hell? Wasn't he dead in Azkaban's graveyard?

The creaking of the door alerted her to another's presence, but it was too late to react.

Her vision went black.

* * *

It was during lunch on 5 December that Mickey G decided to drop a bomb on them all in the form of some very unpleasant information that Bella was totally not there for because it ruined things!

"I felt the need to remind you all that the Yule Ball will be held on 24 December and it is mandatory for fourth years and up to remain for the holidays. An additional note is that the five Champions are expected to open the Ball with their partners by having the first dance, so make certain you all know how to dance properly and don't make a fool of the school you're representing."

She promptly left them to their horror.

It was one thing going to a dance and then spend the whole night hanging out with her friends and eating food. That had been Bella's plan from the very beginning after all. But now she actually  _had_  to get a date for it?! As in she had to wait for someone to ask her to the Ball when there was a huge chance that no one would ask her at all? It wasn't like she had admirers queueing up to ask her out all the time! For the most part, Bella was boring to her schoolmates.

This was not fair!

As the Great Hall descended into madness and people began casting looks in the direction of the Champions, Bella stewed in her annoyance. She didn't know what to do about this, and twenty days did not seem like enough time to be properly prepared now that a partner was  _necessary_  for her to have just to go to a bloody school dance of all things!

Luna stood then, gaining the attention of the group as she moved away from the Slytherin Table and toward the other side of the room, where the Gryffindor Table was. They all watched in silence as she approach Prue, who stared up at her from where she was sandwiched between Fred and George Weasley.

After a moment and a nod from Prue, Luna beamed and returned to her seat quickly, a satisfied air surrounding her.

"What was that about?" Bella asked, curious.

"I asked Prue to the Ball," was his simple answer.

Bella blinked. "Jus- just like that?"

"Yep!"

"It's that easy?" Meaning Bella didn't actually  _have_  to wait for someone to ask her? She could just go and ask someone herself? Why hadn't she considered this as an option?

It was like the heavens opened up and filled her with understanding. Amidst this revelation and the utter relief she could feel, Bella turned to Tom without hesitation and said, "Will you be the one to save my arse by escorting me to the Ball?"

Tom sighed. "And here I was planning to ask you on the seventh." Huh? Tom had been planning to ask her to the Ball? And he'd planned to wait for the seventh because of his obsessions with the number! "I'd be delighted to be your escort, dearest."

"Awesome! Thanks! We're going to have to talk about what you're wearing because my suit's been made since August and I'm not changing anything about it but I also don't want us to clash. People who don't match aggravate the hell out of me."

Acquiring a date for the Ball ended up being a lot easier than she'd thought it would be, thank God. And to think she'd had a moment of utter panic there! This was the 21st Century and girls asked people out all the time now! She needed to remember that for future endeavours.

Bella turned to Blaise, who was looking sullen all of a sudden. "Who do you plan on asking?"

He shrugged. "No bloody clue," he bit out, looking ticked off.

Theo was staring at Neville, who was staring back at the Hufflepuff Table where Hannah Abbott as sitting with her friends. Neville had moved on from crushing on Luna to crushing on Hannah. And Theo had yet to move on to crushing on anyone else. It was kinda cute in a way.

Also kind of sad.

She looked to Hermione next, who gave her a secretive smile. "I already have a date and I refuse to tell anyone who he is until you see us at the Ball. I want the full effect."

Who the hell was it then? What dude out there thought he was good enough for Hermione Granger?

* * *

Leaving for Barcelona on the ninth was just not going to be the best. While she was gone, she just knew that there would be an arseload of work piled up and waiting for her to finish by the new year or else. Making it through the last load had been taxing enough as it was. And now there was more.

Also, she had to fit in magical training in there somewhere so she didn't lose out.

Under Tom's guidance she'd seen true growth in her magical ability and, dare she say it, grown a bit more love for magic in general. Until now, magic had basically been this kinda cool, extra thing on the side that she had to deal with if she wanted her career to be successful. And now it felt like… something more.

She could  _feel_  the magic now. Especially when carving Runes. Before, she hadn't felt much of anything ever, when casting spells or working on Runes. Now there was a bit of a rush. A warmth in her center and then a slight light-headedness, but not of the disorienting sort. And she didn't feel ill after using it either.

Tom told her it had to do with expanding her core. Since Bella tended to do well overall in class, she had to work less to get the hang of spells. While many would take dozens of tries to just cast something once, Bella would get it on the first or second try and as a result, she stopped trying. She  _learned_ , but didn't  _master_. Bella used less magic on the regular, than most Hogwarts students did and that was excluding living an entire day's worth of time int he muggle world six times a week.

Ollivander noting that her wand hadn't seen much action also played into this. She hadn't exercised her wand or her core all that much and now that she was finally getting to it, things were speeding up.

Also, her shortness was involved somehow. Students used a lot of magic throughout the school year, and then those ten weeks without using it at all gave their cores something else to focus on, such as their physical growth. Such things tended to freeze during the school year because that was how magic worked.

Bella's blood parents were not tall individuals. Scientifically, the chances of her being ridiculously tall were already low. Add on the fact that she hadn't been using as much magic as most students during the years where she was supposed to grow a lot, and the fact that she was seeing double the time as them on the side, and she'd effectively helped her growth to stunt. Also, probably after effects of malnutrition from those poor first five years of existence played a part.

On one hand she was annoyed that no one told her about all this stuff having an effect on one's growth, on the other hand, she didn't necessarily want the hassle of working around a new height to measure for during skating. Additional height would mean re-learning spins and jumps so that her rotations wouldn't be all messed up as a result of the excess length on her limbs.

Anyway, now that she was working on her magic and core, and getting real training, her magical performance was improving. Where she used to suck super bad at Charms, she now did a lot better. No more lighting her desk fire by accident. Or exploding things enough to make her Seamus Finnegan's Slytherin twin.

Everyone else too to was affected. Tom was really good at instructing. He worked with them each one on one, observed their mistakes, explained them in a way that didn't make any of them feel like giving up, and then showed them how to fix the problem. Spells they all knew already were made easier simply by changing the smallest detail in the casting process. It was bloody amazing!

And to think she'd be missing out for over a week! The pain was agonising to her soul!

"We'll work out how to catch up with your schedule," Tom had promised her with an easy, charming grin. How he was allowed to be so attractive, she had no idea. While Bella hadn't ever truly cared much for her own appearance as something beyond a face for the brand in essence, she was just a bit jealous. He even had nice eyelashes and he wasn't wearing makeup to get them like that! Was there anything not perfect on him?!

He was even offering to help her with schoolwork!

And her attention was suddenly brought back to classwork and how much she would have to be making up! Back in September, she'd done 72 hours a day for 9 days. She was now doing 72 hours on the regular and would have to add more time on to that to make up for the days gone at the competition. Christ on a cracker, this sucked!

"Dude, I'm so fucked!" she groaned, unhappy with the realisation of just how busy she was going to be right before Christmas! And then to add on the work they'd have to do over break because no teacher ever let them go without giving holiday homework! And the fact that Aaliyah said 'No!' to time-travel and extra work during Christmas made her head throb. Though maybe she could just ignore that rule and her guardian would never know about it. Hmmm.

Tom reached up to pat her hair awkwardly, still not used to being hugged, which she  _did_  plan on working on whenever she could. "Things will work out. You have not only me on your side, but Ms. Granger as well. She would never leave you to fend for yourself, and I doubt the rest of your friends would either."

He was right of course. Tom always seemed to be right. It was a relief to have him there. While Bella's friends tended to rely on her for one things or another, it was also nice for Bella to have someone to rely on to. And she hoped Tom knew he could rely on her in return.

* * *

**To Minister Ernest Vaun Pyrites,**

**It is legally impossible to go through with the actions you are suggesting. Not**  
**only do the Hogwarts laws and bylaws state that the four Houses must remain**  
**forever a part of the institution, but the Wards would lose a significant amount**  
**of their power should anyone once under Hogwarts' protection, destroy any of**  
**the pillars of the school's foundations. The residences of the four Houses are**  
**included in this particular rule, as well each Founder's personal rooms. Rowena**  
**Ravenclaw is the one to draw up that particular point when creating the Ward**  
**Stone.**

**The Board of Governors would also like to remind you that 70% of its members**  
**are Slytherin alumni and attempting to remove a part of the history and identity**  
**of Slytherin House simply because your views are backwards, uninformed, and**  
**quite corrupted by hatred, is not the way to obtain our support in your planning.**  
**You've successfully alienated most of the Board and any votes held by our body**  
**henceforth on anything you propose, will never come in your favour because a**  
**70/30 majority vote will mean that you lose always.**

**You have even less people on your side than when you started your campaign.**  
**Congratulations on further isolating yourself. I shall look forward to any other**  
**attempts you will be making so this ridiculous plan comes to fruition.**

**Most Sincerely,**

**Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy,**

**Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Board of Governors.**

* * *

"I don't have to go back to the manor this Yule and it's probably the best thing ever," Neville noted that morning at breakfast, feeling unusually cheerful as he considered the upcoming holidays and how he was required to stay at the school for the Ball this time. That meant none of his relatives could bother him and he was ecstatic over it!

"Do you have a date?" Theo asked unexpectedly, looking very intense all of a sudden.

He flushed as he thought about what he'd gone through just to get a date, and felt a bit proud that he'd taken the initiative. "I asked Hannah Abbott with a bouquet of pink roses, and she told me not to wear blue."

Good thing his robes had no blue in them too.

"Oh," was Theo's simple response, looking a bit put out. "I don't have a date yet."

"Just ask someone," said Hermione from the other side of the table, her head practically buried in one of her notebooks on Squibs and Muggleborns. "It isn't that difficult to get a date."

"The person I want to go with is going with someone else," Theo told her tightly, his teeth grinding a bit obviously.

Blaise raised a hand, a commiserating look on his face. "Same for me, and asking complete strangers you've never even interacted with before is awkward as hell. How do you go on the equivalent of a date with someone whose name you don't even know?"

"Yeah," agreed Theo. "No sense in it."

The older teen looked between them and said, "Then just take each other as friends if you don't want a stranger. You've been best mates for nearly your entire lives so it's not like it'll be boring if you go together."

She had a point. It wasn't like they were all going to start dating the people they were escorting to the Ball. Well… Neville didn't think he could speak for Bella and her friend Tom seeing as the two already acted like a couple on a daily basis and it was only a matter of time before they both realised something more was going on.

But outside of them, people in general wouldn't be dating after this event. That would be ridiculous. Though Neville wouldn't mind dating Hannah himself.

Luna stopped her quiet humming to herself, to look over at Theo. "Don't drown in sorrow. Who our hearts are drawn to first don't always end up being what our hearts really need. The future for you is pleasant though, so I wouldn't worry if I was you."

She returned to her Quibbler, humming a song none of them recognised and swaying side to side hard enough for her dirigible plum earrings to swing back and forth. She was the perfect show of calm and poise amidst the rising tension in their section of the table.

Theo released an odd sound that was like what muggles thought zombis/inferi sounded like. "Future could be anywhere between tomorrow to a hundred years from now. I hate Divination."

They all nodded along because that class in particular was horrible and few people actually liked or believed it.

Neville patted Theo's back and gave him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure things'll work out for you and the person you like. What's not to like about you?"

The unique shade of red that overcame Theo's face almost made Neville concerned, but then the brunet gave a jerky nod and turned his attention back to his mash.

Blaise's lone snort earned him a sharp glare and a low, "Don't you bloody dare, you tosser."

With hands raised defensively, Blaise shrugged, "I have no idea what you're talking about, mate."

And still Neville felt like he was missing something.

* * *

 

> **Thursday, December 11**
> 
> **14:00 - Junior: Ladies' short**
> 
> **15:05 - Junior: Short dance**
> 
> **16:20 - Junior: Men's short**
> 
> **17:25 - Junior: Pairs' short**
> 
> **19:45 - Opening ceremony**
> 
> **20:45 - Senior: Pairs' short**
> 
> **21:30 - Senior: Ladies' short**
> 
> **Friday, December 12**
> 
> **14:30 - Junior: Ladies' free**
> 
> **15:40 - Junior: Free dance**
> 
> **17:00 - Junior: Men's free**
> 
> **18:15 - Junior: Pairs' free**
> 
> **19:45 - Senior: Short dance**
> 
> **21:00 - Senior: Men's short**

There were more dates of course, but those relevant to Bella's time at the Final were what she focused on the most.

Specifically, the Junior Ladies got the ice first, which was great! That just meant getting everything out of the way ASAP.

Bella hadn't gone unnoticed either. Not only did certain individual bearing cameras and microphones, see her arriving with Aaliyah, but Lewis did as well.

"HI!" the other teen bellowed once she deemed herself near enough.

"I have a mobile now," was the first thing out of Bella's mouth, and internally she was smacking herself in the face for revealing that! Now the girl would want to text! Bella didn't like texting. It was a very stressful thing. Like PMing people online. People expected answers immediately and Bella wasn't into that.

"Awesome! I followed you on Twitter! We can exchange numbers now!" Where did she get the energy? Bella was tired already and it had only been a minute into their interaction!

"Are you ready for the competition?" Lewis asked. "I've been working quite hard recently and I think I'll be able to close the distance of base value in our routines soon."

Shit. Triples. Bella needed Triples out the arse. Lewis was better in terms of PCS than Bella was. If Bella wanted more points and additions to her Grade Of Execution, she would need to come out of the Short Program with a specific amount of points ahead of the person in second place. Those points would give her a lead in the Free Skate.

"Are you too busy to get dinner?"

Bella looked to Aaliyah, trying with all her might to convey the intense desire she had to not go to dinner with Lewis, through her eyes alone.

Aaliyah ended up being a damn backstabber. "No, I can handle checking. Go have dinner with your friend, kiddo."

Was this what being sold down the river felt like?

Lewis grabbed onto Bella's hand and began tugging her toward the entrance of the hotel. Aaliyah was a betrayer.

* * *

"How exactly did you meet Bella?"

Tom froze in his writing, and looked up to find Prunella Potter standing awkwardly on the other side of the table he was using in the library. The girl had Bella's face, but there were differences between them that they no longer resembled the identical twins they must have once been.

Bella's face was free of all baby fat now. The apples of Prue's cheeks still retained a small amount of pudge. Bella was technically older now, so it made sense in a way. But Prue was taller than Bella was now, which could be for many reasons. Prue had only recently fixed her vision so she'd no longer need glasses during the Tournament because they'd become a liability at some point. Bella wore _'contact lenses'_  on her eyes to avoid using her own glasses because she couldn't magically cure her blindness otherwise her doctor would raise questions. And magical healing from being a twin didn't fix it because it apparently was a long term thing and not an injury. Magic worked in mysterious ways even Tom couldn't understand.

Old photos had shown Prunella's hair to be a choppy mess. It was less like that now, falling more like a layered mess that she pulled back into a topknot that had many red pieces randomly sticking out in every direction. Not Weasley red though. Their hair was more orange than red in his opinion. Prunella's was more dark like her mother's.

Bella's hair was long and black, and the thickness weighed it down enough for it to be relatively straight until it curled at the last few inches. Bella got her hair from James Potter.

The Potter twins were very different even in personality. Enough for Tom to know that Prunella didn't often confront people, let alone by herself. She wasn't that confident in herself to approach danger alone. But she looked interested and inquisitive and despite being unnerved by Tom in general, she wanted to have answers.

"She came upon an item of mine and saw it returned to me. We ended up continuing our correspondence. I taught her about the magical world and she taught me about the muggle world." That  _was_  what happened between them too. He wasn't lying in a sense. Prunella didn't need all of the details anyway.

"You don't seem like someone who makes friends," the girl observed shrewdly. He hadn't expected that observation from Prunella of all people honestly. But he didn't feel like she was wrong.

"And what makes you think that?" He was curious to know how her mind worked.

Her eyes, so like Bella's and yet different thanks to not experiencing the Killing Curse, narrowed. "You don't talk to your classmates. Or anyone outside of Bella's group of friends really. You sometimes order your headmaster around but you aren't friends with him. You don't even respect him though I can totally see why. You don't have friends other than Bella, I think."

Well she wasn't wrong, he was just so shocked by how forthright she was being. This seemed to be something she and Bella did have in common. Speaking their minds without a filter. Or perhaps a filter  _was_  there and they just ignored it because they didn't care.

"I find people as a whole to be plebeian and insipid. I was shocked that I ended up liking Bella at all, but she has her moments of maturity where she exceeds what is expected of her age, and then moments where it's obvious she's a child still. Even this week I was once again reminded of how it makes no sense that we got on when I don't like people in general."

Prunella stared him down evenly, seemingly unconcerned now that he wasn't going to be an arsehole when it was just them alone. Tom  _did_  put on an act for the world, but he never felt the urge to just be rude to people for the hell of it. There was no point in putting down those who had done nothing to offend him. He got no satisfaction out of it.

"You like her."

"...I just said I did." He literally  _just_  said that he was shocked that he ended up liking Bella at all!

"No," the Potter Heiress said, shaking her head a bit, "I mean you  _like_  her. Like Hermione and Blaise do. You're a bit possessive even if you haven't noticed the extent of it, and the three of you tend to do the same things when she pays attention to someone other than you. Not enough to be that obvious to those unaware, but still pretty out there for those of us who pay attention more than we should."

No. Tom had noticed the mild interest Granger and Zabini showed in Bella. It was difficult to miss. But it was more of a childish crush because they were around her all the time _(on **their**  ends)_. And Zabini was also a bit smitten with Granger though no one else had noticed it.

Prunella was insisting that Tom was just like them. Toward Bella. That he was possessive of her and grew jealous when she didn't pay him any attention?

It was impossible. Tom had never been interested in anyone before, gender didn't matter in the least. He hated people as a whole. Tom hated equally and freely. Narcissism skewed his view of himself versus others after all. Him being nonpareil and no one else coming close.

Until Bella. But  _only_  Bella. Tom was a poor orphan for many years and he of course would cling to anything he viewed as his. And he knew Bella was her own person and couldn't  _belong_  to anyone, but it was just how he viewed her friendship to him. But even then, how he viewed her wasn't the same as how her friends did? It couldn't be.

"Denying it isn't going to make it less true," said Prunella matter-of-factly, her face blank. "Just accept it for what it is and don't start being creepy about it. She doesn't need you being an obsessive twat. Romance doesn't seem to be on the mind right now, so don't go pushing for it either. If you  _do_  start harassing her over dating or sex or some shite, I'll tell Snape. And Sirius and Remus of course. But Snape's the one with knowledge of the Dark Arts and can hurt you more than they could."

And then she was walking away, leaving Tom to think about everything she'd said to him.

He'd just gotten threatened in a sense, by a fourteen year old. But not with  _her_  anger as the threat since she knew she hadn't even a centimeter of skill on him. No, she used a powerful figure as her threat. One with a dodgy past, and a concerning amount of knowledge in Dark Magic. Like Tom. Someone who probably could give him a challenge if he was to be perfectly honest.

He wasn't sure if he should be impressed by her loyalty to Bella, even after their separation and rocky relationship upon being reintroduced to one another, or amused by the entire situation.

Still, Tom didn't believe he fancied Bella. He'd experienced none of the telltale signs of attraction that were always written about in books. He never had for anyone. Tom had never thought of sex or romance as things he'd be concerned about.

* * *

Bella's theme for the season was  **Solitude**. It had taken a long conversation between them both for her to finally decide whether to use the original track or an instrumental cover only. Eventually, Aaliyah managed to convince her ward that while Adele's voice was lovely, the instrumental version of [Someone Like You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jONFxUX-kjQ) would fit the overall theme more for the Free Skate, considering the lyrics would disrupt the flow started by her Short Program music, [Amelie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQmGt55ZuA).

It had to be treated with proper consideration now that vocals were allowed in competition in hopes of drawing more viewers. But there had been a small riot in a sense from certain circles within the figure skating community. Some people whinged about having to hear Miley Cyrus or  _'Rap Crap'_  from now on **[2]**.

It was very obvious that anyone skating to such music would be under tight watch and might even be unfairly marked because the judge in question disliked the musical choices made by the skater and their coach.

Bella had finally conceded mid-August, right before her first assignment for the Junior Grand Prix. And now here they were at the Final. Bella was the only skater in her Division not using music with vocals, and the drama wasn't exactly low, just as Aaliyah had predicted.

Some people thought Bella was kissing up to the old ways by not stepping into the new cycle like everyone else. Obviously those people missed the point entirely.

Bella's Short Program music was a piano piece only. It bore sad undertones and called to mind isolation and loneliness.  **Someone Like You**  continued that theme, as the song was about reminiscing on good times with a partner, where the singer wasn't lonely unlike present time where she was stood on the pavement outside the house of her ex who found happiness without her. Both renditions of the songs chosen had a melancholy feel and a repetitive accompaniment. It worked. If some people didn't get, it wasn't Bella's fault.

However it was necessary to point out that Bella hadn't been underscored like some were. And it was very obvious even if the deductions were put toward something else, they all knew why the deductions happened in the first place. It wasn't too difficult to see. Bella inching her way in with modern pop done instrumentally was the smart move at present.

"First up, kiddo," she announced to the teen who was laid out on the floor, stretching her body to ridiculous shapes and positions.

"Does my outfit look fine?"

It was a sleeveless, black unitard with cut-out gash designs outlined in sparkles from ankles to neck. It was Bella's first ever costume unitard because she was finally comfortable enough to wear them now **[1]**. "I looks good. Not tight anywhere?"

"Nope. I'm good."

* * *

**Mr. Tom A Dildo Lover! Wassup?!**

Was there really a need for this so late in the evening? Did she not have things to do?

Tom was in the middle of doing some research because he had theories that needed study.

_Do you have any idea what time it is?_

**Dude, it's only one hour between us and if it's 11 for me, it's 10 for you**  
**and I know damn well that you don't go to bed until midnight on most**  
**nights so stfu.**

He should be unnerved that she knew him so well.

He wasn't though. Tom was kind of pleased by it in fact. Knowing someone cared enough about him and the things he did that they would pay attention to everything he did no matter how small and inconsequential it seemed.

It was moments like that helped him understand how they were friends.

_I hate you._

**You love me, fuck off.**

He found himself smiling fondly at the words and not necessarily believing them to be incorrect.

He cared about Bella more than he did anyone ever. Tom knew nothing of love his entire life, but Bella was held in higher regard than anybody else had ever been in his mind.

Perhaps adore would be a better word for how he felt?

_Was there a reason you decided to interrupt my study time this late in the evening?_  
_I was just in the middle of ascertaining the benefits of using Aluminium instead of_  
_Lead in poison production and application._

**I'm bored.**

Sometimes how her mind worked made no sense to Tom.

_You are in a large city with not only a massive muggle section, but also a considerable_  
_magical one. With rich history on either side. How are you bored in Barcelona?_

**I have a curfew, you know. It is 11 here and I am not tired, but I don't like**  
**watching the telly all that much and they don't seem to have anything good**  
**on anyway. Most shows aren't interesting and the hotel doesn't offer many**  
**channels. I didn't bring anything to read, not that it would have helped as I**  
**dont' seem to get on with books to begin with.**

_What about your YouTube videos? Or that Vine thing you mentioned?_

Entertainment in the 21st Century had come a long way. She  _had_  to have something to do. She did nothing but talk all the things available for recreational purposes ever since they began speaking to each other.

**You're a bloody genius!**

_I know._

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

> **[[1](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/post/182293626255/you-get-what-you-give-ch-42)]** Link to my more detailed blog post about Bella's  **Costumes** and **Music**.
> 
> SP:  FS: 
> 
> **[2]** This is actually something that was said a lot when this decision was made.  
>  Specifically, people in the industry were complaining about having to hear pop  
>  music, using Miley Cyrus as an example as if she is some horrible influence to  
>  others. And I'm sure we all know the 'older generation's' opinions on Rap and  
>  Hip Hop.

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Yule Ball is in this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Drama all around!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Bella stared out at the ice. She was one routine away from winning her first Junior Grand Prix Final. Being ahead in the Short by only two points, because Lewis had caught up very quickly, was a bit stressful. Lewis' Presentation was simply better than Bella's and she'd improved her jumps.

As such, Bella needed the most difficult version of her routine if she wanted to win this. She and Aaliyah had trained through two separate versions of the Free Skate because it was best for Bella to not have to make corrections to the routine mid-skate. A hard one for taking chances, and an easy one in case something concerning happened.

To better embody the theme of her season, Bella asked Aaliyah apply some eyeliner to Bella's face, and then draw a single, black tear falling from her right eye. Isolation was the goal. Loneliness. Abandonment. Sorrow. Needing to convey these feelings to the audience in the best way she could. She'd spent so much time working on her PCS so she could have a more rounded skill set. It was time to put that to the test.

If Bella was capable of faking happiness and friendliness, than she should be able to channel sorrow and isolation.

Something sad. Something out there that made her want to cry.

Bella was a bit lacking in emotional responses to stimuli. Her entire life, things that would normally be offensive to most people, didn't hit her as they would others. And sometimes she had a difficult time understand why other people got emotional when she didn't. Some things made no sense no matter how much they were explained.

Forcing sadness when she wasn't sad, was hard. It was different with joy. All she had to do was smile and people believed, because Bella had good skin, nice teeth and hair, and startling eyes that made her look like a porcelain doll. And they fell for it pretty easily. But sorrow. That was the tricky one.

Aaliyah patted her back. "You'll think of something, kiddo. Imagine you've lost something you can't live without. Like your friends or your ability to skate. Dig deep, find the most depressing thing you can, and embody yourself reacting to it."

Losing her friends. Losing the ability to skate after putting in so much hard work. Both had been almost a reality back in the summer during the World Cup Final. The Death Eaters attacked and Bella got buried under the rubble of a destroyed tent while Theo held her down with his body so she wouldn't get hurt. And she'd learned later on that all those green lights had been Killing Curses.

At the time she'd taken it pretty well, but the more she thought about it, the more messed up it was. Things like that shouldn't happen at all. She and her friends could have died because of the Ministry's incompetence. It could have all been over that night.

And now she was feeling unhappy. Maybe not sorrow, but definitely not joy. More worry than sorrow.

Things had to change so something like that couldn't happen again.

She removed her guards and stepped onto the ice. Her balance was little wobbly for a second, but then she was fine. Odd.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Aaliyah asked.

"Yeah." At least she was about 80% certain she was. Her right skate felt a bit off though.

The announcer called her name and Bella took a deep breath. Sadness. Sorrow. Depressing thoughts. Rinse and repeat.

* * *

 

> **Belladonna POTTER**
> 
> **Free Program:**  
>  **3A - 8.80**  
>  **4T-3T - 13.02**  
>  **3S - 5.59**  
>  **LSp4 - 3.31**  
>  **FSSp4 - 3.14**  
>  **3Lz+3T+2Lo - 11.10**  
>  **3F - 6.36**  
>  **3S-2A-SEQ - 7.30**  
>  **StSq4 - 5.20**  
>  **3Lz - 7.40  
>  ** **ChSq1 - 3.00  
>  ** **CCoSp3p4 - 4.36**
> 
> **Total Segment Score(TSS) = 78.58**
> 
> **Program Component Score(PSC) = 70.14**
> 
> **TOTAL: 148.72**
> 
> **Belladonna POTTER is in 1st PLACE after the Free Program. Set 2 World Records!**

* * *

 

 

> **JUNIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL**
> 
> **{Junior Ladies Results}**
> 
> **[1] Belladonna POTTER - GBR- 148.72**  
>  **[2] Sandra LEWIS - GBR** **\- 141.46**  
>  **[3] Misao NAKAMURA - JPN** **\- 134.46**  
>  **[4] Qamra** **DIMALANTA - PHI** **\- 134.16  
>  ** **[5] Elena POGORILAYA - RUS** **\- 133.98  
>  ** **[6] Eloise BEAUMONT - FRA** **\- 132.12**

* * *

Karkaroff was fidgety lately. It was kind of amusing seeing as Tom was the reason for it and he was absolutely expected to converse with his school's Champion on a regular basis otherwise people might begin to think there was something wrong between them. Karkaroff wouldn't be able to live with another faux pas connected to his name and reputation. The Daily Prophet was already running him into the ground as the cause for Bella and Prunella being entered into the Tournament, even though he had nothing to do with it.

"You wanted to speak with me, Highmaster?" Tom asked the moment he entered Karkaroff's office on the ship. It was a dreary room with poor lighting from only a few candles. Not good enough to read by even. Karkaroff took the brooding character to a whole new level and it was annoying.

The former Death Eater was sat at his temporary desk, looking unnerved. "I wanted to ask how you're coming along with preparing for the Second Task. We rarely see you on the ship anymore, and your assignments are always done ahead of time to you're always by yourself and wondering."

"Everything is in order, sir. I have faith in my magical ability and nothing the Dark Forest can throw at me, will stop me."

"They're going to take a person, you realise? Whoever you value the most is going to be kidnapped."

Tom smirked. "I don't know how that'll happen since there is only one person that I give a damn about besides myself, and she is one of the other Champions in this Tournament, sir."

The unease on Karkaroff's face grew even more. The supposed spawn of Voldemort admitting to caring about someone, anyone really, had to be incomprehensible to the coward. Voldemort didn't care about anyone or anything. But Tom wasn't Voldemort, thank Circe.

How would they manage to _'steal someone away'_  for the duration of the Task, if he was a borderline sociopath and had only one person he considered important? Perhaps they'd take one of his possessions then? Tom didn't have anything truly important, but he didn't like his possessions being touched without his permission. Orphan issues still left over from his first life.

"This was a nice talk, Highmaster."

* * *

"So are we going to talk about the fact that you did a Quad in a Combo when you were told not to many times over the past few months?"

Bella sighed as she moved to undo her skates. She'd expected this to happen, just not so soon after the Junior Ladies finished their part in the competition. "I didn't mean to."

Aaliyah didn't look like she believed her, which was annoying.

"Look, I felt something odd when I stepped on the ice, but chose to ignore it. I was doing fine in the beginning, and when as I was going for the jump, I thought I felt something wrong with a blade again and pushed off too soon and too hard because I panicked. And I didn't count four revolutions while I was doing it. I was more concerned about the fact that there was something wrong." She held up her right skate for her coach's perusal, and proceeded to wiggle the blade. It had come loose. Dangerously loose. She'd skated an entire program of over three minutes with a loose blade under her boot. That could have spelled danger for a lot of people if it had flown off.

"You could have stopped and swapped out with your other pair."

Bella shrugged. "Sure we can stop, but I'd have to start exactly from where I left off. No do-overs of what you already skated are allowed, no matter the technical issues involved."

Aaliyah was frowning. "If this happens again, you  _will_  stop and request a chance to change boots. A loose anything could be dangerous for everybody around you when on the rink. Didn't you check them this morning like you're supposed to?"

"They were fine this morning," Bella insisted. She checked them before getting to the rink and after leaving, just to be sure. And she kept a spare pair with her at all times. Deborah had been insistent upon that. She liked to be ready.

"Did you leave them unattended for any period of time?" Aaliyah asked, as if the notion was ludacris.

"We we got here. For like a few minutes as I went to the loo and got a drink."

Aaliyah's deep breath through the nostrils alerted Bella to something being wrong. "Someone tried to sabotage your boots."

Shite. And she still won anyway. A double fuck off to them.

* * *

** LADIES FIGURE SKATING HAS A NEW STAR?  **

**By:**  Alex Woodridge 

Published on 18/12/15 

Belladonna Potter is back at it again, crushing world records and winning  
Gold medals. The fourteen year old competed in her first ever JGP series  
and managed to come out with Gold at the Final, breaking a record held  
by the Queen herself, Yuna Kim.

There was a vast improvement in Potter's Presentation this season, and  
her scores proved that. Comparing the results from her scores in British  
Nationals last December, to the results she's received this season in the  
JGPF, we can see her growth clearly. Her record-breaking Free Program  
is one for the history books now!

Potter landed a slightly shaky Quad Toe Loop that was follow by a Triple  
Toe Loop. She has become the first woman to successfully land a Quad  
Toe Loop in competition, joining Miki Ando, who landed a Quad Salchow  
in the JGPF back in 2002. She's also the first woman to use her Quad in  
combination. There are now only two women to have landed Quads in a  
competition.

With these accomplishments under her young belt, it seems as if Potter  
will be able to bring British figure skaters back into the spotlight of the  
ISU sanctioned competitions! The future is looking very bright for her  
and the rest as well.

And we should never forget that a good deal of this success should be  
attributed to her Coach, Aaliyah Michaels, former Synchronised Skater  
for Britain. She seems to understand the type of handling her skater  
requires and works with her to help her achieve success. I would urge  
any young skater in need of a coach, to try and get Michaels on their  
side.

If she managed to get her skater to win Gold during her first Junior  
Grand Prix run, she can certainly help you. The woman coaches  _and_  
creates choreography that she and Potter work on equally. Consider  
her for your future.

* * *

"Prue, you coming?"

She looked up from browsing  **Quidditch Plus** , a frown on her face like she didn't understand what he was saying. "Are you going somewhere that I need to come with?"

"...Um... we agreed to go to the last training session of the year today," he reminded her. "During the last time we all got together we all agreed on the 21st so we could work on human to animal Transfiguration. Night said it was vital to do a check-up before Christmas."

She shook her head. "I don't remember that."

"You were the one who suggested it, Prue. You said it was the best time considering everyone's schedules and how busy things have been getting with training and studying for everything coming up."

She didn't seem to agree since she was shaking her head. "I haven't even  _learned_  about animal to human Transfiguration."

That... wasn't right. They'd spent an entire session covering the usefulness of it, plus the pronunciation. they'd been told to go and practice until the next session.

"Are you sure you don't remember learning? You even complained about how it wasn't fun like Transfiguration normally is." Transfiguration was Prue's best subject outside of Defence.

Prue shook her head. "No."

"Well, we still have to go. You have the Map?"

She blinked up at him, head tilting to the side. "What Map?"

Something was wrong and Ron didn't know what to do about it!

* * *

"Wealsey, what the fuck are you doing to Prue?" Bella demanded the moment the redhead stormed into the Room or Requirement, dragging a very unwilling Prue along with him.

He didn't even give her a second glance as he said, "She doesn't remember the last meeting. Or the fact that we started Sixth Year Curriculum too. She's drawn a complete blank on the whole day. I asked a bunch of questions and she denied everything that happened that day. She doesn't even remember having the Marauder's Map."

Tom stepped forward, his face a mask of concern. "You suspect foul play?"

Weasley shrugged. "I don't know. She was normal before and after that day so I never thought anything was wrong."

"Did she go somewhere without you in the days following?"

The redhead paused in what looked to be a negative shake of the head. "She left the Tower for a few hours a few days ago. She had the Map with her. She came back looking like she did before leaving so I didn't really think twice about it since she wasn't gone too long for me to worry."

Tom extended a hand to Prue. "May I check you for an  **Obliviate**?"

Prue, who was looking around at them all in very obvious concern that Bella did  _not_  like seeing on her face, stepped back. "What- what does it entail?"

"I can cast a long spell on you or use  **Legilimency**."

Hermione gasped. "That's illegal to use on minors!"

"I'm still a minor," Tom countered easily. "It's illegal for  _adults_  to use on minors without their guardian's supervision or permission. The law says nothing about minors using it on minors, permission granted or not." And that was a bit fucked up and would have to be fixed at a later date. Hermione was already writing in her notebook about it.

Bella placed a calming hand on Prue's elbow. "Do what makes you feel the most comfortable, but remember that we were entered into this Tournament against our wishes. Meaning someone is trying to get us killed. It's most likely a Death Eater who has relatively easy access to us all and that's not good for anyone. We need to get to the bottom of this before anything unsavoury happens."

Eventually, Prue seemed to calm down a bit. "The spell. I don't- the idea of you being in my head. I don't like it."

Tom nodded and pointed his wand directly in the center of Prue's forehead, right where her third eye would be. He proceeded to murmur words in a language that wasn't Latin or Latin-derived, and a red light began to seep from the place where the tip of his wand touched Prue's skin.

Hermione gasped. "Her memory's been tampered with." Of course she would have read up on this at some point and known what Tom was doing. "Badly, it seems."

* * *

Tom carefully removed the spell on Prunella Potter's mind, and watched as the girl was assaulted by all the images she'd been forced to forget. She would have a splitting headache for a while.  **Obliviates**  were a tricky business and removing them was just as taxing. Tom was powerful enough to manage it of course, but he was just a bit tired.

"Moody isn't Moody," was the first thing out of Prunella's mouth. The entire group stiffened upon hearing those words.

"I'd gone down to talk to him to see if I could find anything weird in his office, which is also his bedroom oddly enough. I thought he was working with Crouch to try and discredit Bella and basically anyone else they thought were evil. I took the Map. He was in the office the whole time but when I broke in, no one was there. But the name was on the Map.

"I found out that the name was coming from this weird, black trunk thing that had a million locks on it. And I found the  _real_  Alastor Moody inside. The whole term, every time I've looked at the Map, Moody would be in his office. In the exact same place. And Barty Crouch would always be with him too. The Alastor Moody in the trunk said he'd been attacked by Barty Crouch Jr. who is supposed to be dead in Azkaban's graveyard. I was then knocked out when the door opened suddenly."

"And the Map can't differentiate between Jr. and Sr. if the name is exactly the same, so it just said Barty Crouch the entire time," concluded Tom. "He's been impersonating Moody all term and most likely using Polyjuice Potion which would explain why he was keeping Moody alive and with him, and why he always has that flask to drink from."

There had been a Death Eater that close to his Bella. Tom was very unhappy suddenly and he was assaulted by visions of evisceration and murder.

"Barty Crouch Jr. is the guy from my dreams about Voldemort," said Bella, drawing their attention back to the implications of him being inside Hogwarts. "He's alive. He was at the World Cup Final and cast the Dark Mark into the sky. And in the dreams, Voldemort kept insisting that I was necessary for something important because I'm the real Girl Who Lived. So he's probably the one who entered us. Because Voldemort needs me for something, and wants Prue dead just because he's a bitter twat."

Prunella winced and rubbed her head. "I think he took the Map too. He could be watching us even more than normal. Remus updated the Map to show the Room of Requirement too."

"Shite," Bella said. "Having to watch our backs so much is going to give me anxiety. How the fuck are we gonna get the damn thing back?"

Tom's mind was already working though. He had an idea and he was going to see it through. The thought of Voldemort's minion being strong enough to defeat him was laughable. "I'll handle it," he told the younger teens.

Granger adopted a worried expression. "Are you sure we shouldn't tell a teacher?"

Tom smirked. "I can be far more terrifying than any teacher or official in this building. Don't worry. It might take time, but I have a plan to deal with him. He'll be gone by the New Year."

* * *

"Can I just delete someone from existence?"

"It's called murder," Tom interjected before anyone else could answer her somewhat rhetorical question. Like, she hadn't  _expected_  an answer from anyone, but an answer wouldn't be spurned if it was given.

She stared him down for a moment, truly considering his words before shaking her head, a near-manic grin that was full of pride stretching across her face. "I'm not that desperate yet. But that comment is almost meme worthy. Congrats, dude!"

Tom sighed, no doubt remembering all the tales of memes Bella had foisted upon him at some point. It wasn't her fault that her generation was effin hilarious and she wanted to share that with her friends! Whether they understood the jokes or not.

"Who do you want to delete from existence?" Theo asked. "Blaise's mum could help if you need advice."

That got a nod from Blaise. "She likes you. She'd help if you need it."

While that as very sweet, that wasn't what she really needed at the moment.

"My issue is Parkinson. She keeps talking about my body, which is a bit unnerving because she's doing it out loud and to my face. Like, I have obviously remarked upon the attractiveness of people and maybe expressed a bit of jealousy here and there, but I sure as hell am not walking up to them to tell them how beguiling their body parts are! Also, we seem to go about things differently. I'm looking at eyes and hair, and cheekbones and shoulder width, and Parkinson has just put an abnormal amount of focus on my arse and tits."

Blaise sneered and Hermione's hair began sparking to no one's surprise. Tom  _seemed_  unaffected, but his grip on his fork tightened considerably. He took a long sip of tea.

"And she hasn't come on to me or anything, but it's how she talks about women's bodies that feels objectifying, which is what creeps me out. She's of the whole belief that the husband controls your very life from the moment you tie the knot and she has no problem with that stupid, Pureblood tradition in her family. Telling me I'm flat and no guy's ever gonna want me is ridiculous. One, she makes it seem like a woman's only use is to be sexually appealing to her husband. Two, she forgets that gay men exist and if I really look like a man, then there  _will_  be men out there who would still want me for being their type if they truly thought I too was a man. Three, Pansexuality is a thing and is thriving these days!"

While her friends seemed put off by the topic at hand, and Hermione's face was becoming more red by the second, Tom looked contemplative. He was watching her as she spoke, giving her all of his attention. She appreciated that.

"The only good thing that can be drawn from this revelation is that this particular tradition has begun to lose favour all across the globe," Tom stated matter-of-factly. "As true Purebloods die out and things become modernised, people have begun to consider this practice obsolete and useless. The states don't employ this idea, and actually made arranged marriages illegal, which is the best thing they have going for them in the Magical World."

That was honestly something nice to think about. Bella hadn't forgotten Daphne Greengrass' Boggart. Her being older, surrounded by children and all her youth and joy mercilessly drained from her in order to please her greedy family's values. It wasn't a pleasant future and that was all she had to look forward to. And if she somehow bailed to protect herself, her little sister would get stuck with those expectations to fulfill instead. Though the chances of it happening to Astoria Greengrass too were very high since the Greengrass' loved arranged marriages.

Maybe one day Hermione could make arranged marriages illegal in their community as well. Besides, it wasn't like they were done for the well being of the kid. It was always to benefit the family they hailed from and no other reason. It was like buying a spouse, which was effed up. And most of the time the spouse someone ended up with wasn't even a decent human being to begin with.

"Is Ms. Parkinson okay with her future as it is because she thinks she knows who her spouse will be, or does she honestly not care at all?" Tom asked moments later, making them all stop and think for a second.

Hermione ended up saying, "The first. She thinks she'll be marrying Malfoy. He's betrothed to Astoria Greengrass though and Pansy has somehow gone this long unaware of it."

"Or she's avoiding the truth because she's holding out hope," Neville suggested sadly. "Willful blindness is sometimes all people have left. Maybe she's trying to convince herself that she  _isn't_  going to end up in an unhappy and abusive marriage."

"But Draco doesn't like her," Theo pointed out. "He literally cannot stand being near her and flees when she goes near him. Their marriage wouldn't be happy to begin with."

"Yeah," Bella agreed hesitantly but considerately, "but Malfoy isn't a dick about it. He's a bit spoiled but with a mum like his, I don't think he'd be abusive as a husband. Maybe Parkinson knows that and has convinced herself that he's the best option?" It would make more sense to Bella that way than everything else she'd come to believe about the other girl.

Blaise shrugged. "If that's the case, he  _isn't_  the best option for her altogether. On the Slytherin side though, he  _would_  be the best. And their families share similar views and obligations."  **Meaning:**  they're Death Eaters.

Pansy's situation seemed more bleak the more they tried to decipher her thought process.

Bella didn't want to be sat at lunch, pitying Pansy Parkinson of all people, but that seemed to be where her afternoon was going. And this all started because Parkinson had failed to bully her properly and ended up being creepy instead.

* * *

**Mione,**

**I sent that book on hieroglyphics you asked for. It was pretty easy to track down**  
**surprisingly. If you are planning on teaching them to Bella, please be gentle with**  
**her. I know that you would love to finish your Runes assignment as soon as you**  
**can but Bella needs a bit more time to learn things. You know, it never occurred**  
**to me that they are just a different form of Runes either? Learning a whole new**  
**language isn't going to be easy, so take some breaks, be considerate, and don't**  
**overthink anything. They all have their purpose and it'll all work out eventually.**

 **As for other matters, did you manage to fine the shoes you wanted for the Ball?**  
**I can't imagine much that would go with that colour scheme. I always believed**  
**gold to be a tacky colour though. Maybe you should go the entire mile and get**  
**glass slippers! It would be hilarious! Uncomfortable, but totally hilarious!**

 **My parents are taking me to the Virgin Island for the hols. I am excited to get**  
**into the sun! It shines for more than two seconds a day over there, and there**  
**will be the beach too! But I'll miss the felines! The newest litter is doing really**  
**well. Thankfully, Aaliyah and Deborah have agreed to watch them for us, which**  
**is nice. Having more friends on the muggle side who are aware of the secret is**  
**a relief. Not having to watch what we say all the time is golden.**

 **I just noticed, we do not have nicknames for Bella's guardians. Do you think**  
**they'd like Debbie and Ali? NO, Debbie sounds so very... not cool. Maybe Debs?**  
**Debs sounds like something not embarrassing. Doesn't sound like a food either.**  
**Americans have these sweets made by "Little Debbie" as you might have seen**  
**when you've visited the states. I always thought it was weird. I wouldn't call**  
**someone Debbie.**

 **I will ask if they'd be okay with the nicknames. Writing their whole names out**  
**takes more work than I like. Also, remembering how to spell Aaliyah is a lot of**  
**work sometimes! To remember, I think of aardvarks first and it's a bit weird.**

**I'm allowed to be lazy in controlled increments! Don't judge me!**

**How are things holding up for you up in the castle? I've been keeping up with**  
**the papers and all I keep seeing is drama here, a Death Eater there, and then**  
**someone suggesting that you're dating all of your friends? I mean, I'm all for**  
**polyamory so long as it's consensual, but even that bit was a little over the top.**  
**And the funny thing is Skeeter isn't the one behind those rumours. Though her**  
**being on Bella's payroll might play a bit part in that.**

 **Witch Weekly has been shucking out the rumours like it is no one's business.**  
**Did you know that Bella is supposedly dating Viktor Krum? Our Bella. The one**  
**who just hates Quidditch and flying. Why would someone who thinks Quidditch**  
**is pointless, date someone who's world revolves around it? The gossip rags**  
**make no sense these days.**

 **Talk to you soon,**  
**Amara.**

* * *

"When are you getting ready?" Bella asked that morning at breakfast. And breakfast was being held in their Common Rooms because no one but the teachers and officials were allowed in the Great Hall or even to get near it. The same with lunch. No one was allowed to see the Great Hall until the Ball was opened.

Hermione, who was still doing homework even though it was fucking Christmas Eve, didn't even look up as she stated, "Noon."

Bella nearly choked on her toast. "Seven hours!  _Why_?!"

"I need to wrangle this mess," Hermione began, clutching at her poofy, curly hair, "into some semblance of control. Like more manageable curls." Her hair  _was_  a bit uncontrollable so Bella could make understand, but without a straightener, how would she pull it off? Did Magicals have wizard straighteners that she was unaware of? Would Hermione go the old-fashioned route by placing a burning hot stone on her hair?

"What's your dress like? Muted and mature or cute and bubbly? A mix of the two maybe?"

"Full on Disney princess."

"Cool. We talkin' Elsa or  _not_  a wintery one?"

"You'll have to see for yourself."

Unfair! "I showed you mine already!"

"I didn't ask you to."

"You cheeky little bitch!"

Hermione snorted, but said nothing more on the subject.

* * *

The agreement had been to meet up outside the Great Hall just like everyone else was. The Ball began at seven, so they where meeting up a quarter to, to make certain they were all prepared. It would also give them enough to time fix something in case of an emergency. Bella said something  _'friends helping friends not make arses of themselves'_.

Tom hadn't started getting ready until six because he didn't need to do much. His robes fit him perfectly and he'd already showered and meticulously dried his hair with a charm. One fortunate thing always going for him, was the fact that he didn't need to use product to get his hair into the proper position. Years of brushing it the same way had tamed it in a sense, so he didn't need all the ridiculous products many of his schoolmates used.

Bella had sworn she would need at least two hours because she had three hairstyles she wanted and wasn't sure which to choose from yet. With the full ensemble on, she'd know which to use supposedly, so she needed the extra time on her hands.

The whole castle had been decorated for the holidays. Not just the Great Hall, but everywhere else too. The windows were all magically frosted. The banisters to every staircase had dangling icicles that jingled a jolly tunes every time the stairs moved. Assurances were made that they wouldn't fall and impale anyone. Mistletoe was floating over random people's heads, singing atrocious melodies that wouldn't end until the person kissed someone. Hermione Granger had expressed disgust at those and turned a dark eye onto anyone who gave into the tradition that never made any sense anyway.

When he took a deep enough breath, Tom could smell peppermint and hot cocoa in the air. It was nice, even though he didn't like either all that much.

If everything outside the hall was this nice, he could only wonder what it'd look like  _inside_.

He'd only been to one Yule Ball before, and that was at Malfoy Manor, under invitation from Abraxas. Hogwarts didn't hold Balls in his time and didn't bother in this time either. He was certain it would an impressive set up that would put a Malfoy gathering to shame. Hogwarts and her professors were trying to impress the foreigners after all. More effort was always placed into such endeavours.

That wasn't to say the foreigners weren't trying to impress either. Tom's entire delegation was dressed exactly the same to make their group appear more intimidating. The only difference between Tom and his schoolmates, was the fact that his robes were all black instead of black and red. He couldn't ignore the ridiculous fur thing they all had to wear, but he luckily obtained permission to Charm the colours of his robes to something that would match Bella's own.

She hadn't told him what she was be clothed in of course, but he knew it wasn't a dress, and that it was primarily black. She'd been elated over her choice of apparel and said she couldn't wait to show everyone when she'd chosen.

"Hey, Night!"

Prunella Potter sounded different than Bella, with an almost bell-like quality to her clear speech. Bella's voice was more raspy, like smooth chalk over a chalkboard. He wondered if those descriptions would make sense out loud, like they did in his head.

Bella's twin was bedecked in robes that were heavily influenced by muggle clothing, which was the ironic part about it since it was becoming a popular style among the Pureblood masses of Magical Britain. If they only knew where their precious trends came from.

Her trousers were white, with knee-high, black boots that offered a decent amount of height. The waistcoat was black, but the swallow-tail coat was carmine red with gold-tipped peaked lapels with sharply cut coattails that also bore gold designs. Most likely real gold as well. Finally, there was a large, red, black, and gold slash that stretched from left shoulder to right hip.

Prunella was holding a bouquet of red roses and looked a bit awkward, but she cleaned up well. She would have looked even awkward in a dress, so he supposed it was smart for her to choose a suit. And her hair had been pulled back into a sectioned off ponytail with each section puffed up a bit and pieces of hair sticking out here and there.

Next to her was Ronald Weasley… who did  _not_  clean up well. His orange/red hair clashed with the odd patterns in his mud brown robes. The patterns included yellow speckles and powder blue and orange paisley designs. It was hideous on its own, but then someone decided to add salmon pink, lace ruffles on the trimming.

It was obviously a hand-me-down. From like two centuries ago. That wouldn't have even been worn in Tom's time.

The redhead looked miserable and would surely be a laughing stock. While Tom had experienced some drama and light teasing over his second-hand clothes back in Slytherin,  _his_  still had always been in style and not obviously over a century behind the times. He could blend in. Weasley could not, and his night was going to be ruined by it.

Sighing, he took pity on the boy and flicked his wand into his hand. "Come here, and don't move a muscle."

Cutting Charms were dangerous at close-range. If one didn't intend to cause harm, then the target had to remain perfectly still.

The lace pieces were quickly removed and then burned on the spot so no proof of them remained. None of the colours in Weasley's robes complimented his hair. It was just a shade of red that didn't go anything much unfortunately.

"Do you know what your date is wearing?" he asked as he tried to decide which was best.

"She said bright orange and fuchsia," the boy grumbled, looking less concerned now that the lace was gone forever.

Bright orange would go well with his hair at least. He wouldn't look good in orange or fuchsia though.

"Oh, wow. You look…  _dashing_."

The painful-sounding compliment had the three of them looking over to find two girls, both obviously twins, dressed in matching orange and fuschia dress robes modeled after Indian garb. They were the Patil twins Bella had told him about. One was in Gryffindor and the other was in Ravenclaw.

"I'm trying to fix it," Tom told them. "Which of you is his date?"

The girl on the left raised her hand, looking a bit reluctant and souring the Weasley's mood even further.

"Could you stand beside him? I'm going to charm his robes to match your skin tone exactly. Be glad the sun rarely shines right now so he doesn't have a sunburn." That would have been a terrible addition to the look in general, especially with his freckles.

When the couple was stood together, Tom could better visualise the robes and their new form. With a few waves of the wand and some mumbled words, the atrocious combination of colours melded into a dark brown match the Patil girl's skin. He then charmed the redhead's shoes to match because they too were hideous.

"This good enough?" he asked, stepping away to get the full effect of them together. And strangely, they worked really well.

"Thanks, Night," Ronald murmured, embarrassed enough for his flush to stain his cheeks a morbid shade of red. And the red continued up to his ears. The red clashed with his hair. He was very lucky he wasn't sun-burned.

He waved off the boy's gratitude. Tom had filled his kindness meter to the brim and there would be no more acts of decency from him for the rest of the year!

"Hey, Tom!"

Bella!

When he whirled around to find his date, his jaw ended up dropping.

The first thing of note, was the fact that she was a lot taller in her high heels that bore gold accents. Black trousers, a white button-down, and a black and tan waistcoat with gold buttons. What was pulled over her shoulders wasn't necessarily a cloak because there was no way of clipping it onto anything, but it was black and had a white, furred trim around the collar. Perhaps the best term for it would be a shawl. The designs on it were tan and formed two Chinese Fireballs surrounded by flames. And while that was enough of an attention getter, it was the thing clipped to the back of her waistcoat that really made him curious.

Bella took pity on him and turned, showing that the shawl wasn't long in the back like it was in the front. "It's a butterfly train," she told him.

And indeed it was. Two large pieces spread out on either side like wings, and then longer pieces trailed downward until they lightly dragged across the floor. All pieces were trimmed with the same colour as the shawl so everything matched.

Her hair had been left down but was curled at the ends, and atop her head was a small hat that matched the rest of her outfit.

"You look lovely," he told her, unable to stop himself from smiling. Only one woman in his time, had attended the Malfoy Yule Ball dressed in men's clothing. It had been the subject of many articles for the weeks following because the woman was making a statement that many didn't want to hear.

Bella sent him a cheeky smile, her teeth perfectly polished. "Was that a compliment? From Mr. Tom A Dil-"

His hand covered her mouth before she could continue, and he found himself glad that she hadn't painted her lips with anything. Sure he could just use a cleansing charm on his hand, but he didn't want to have to bother. And oddly enough, painted lips would have probably ruined the whole effect of the outfit.

Her green eyes twinkled in a very Dumbledore-like way, her amusement easily visible.

Behind her were Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini, both dressed in pure black robes with no distinguishable decorations. Both looking disgruntled. "Where is Ms. Granger?"

"She told us to come ahead," said Zabini. "She  _'wants everyone to be shocked together'_  so she's waiting a bit."

" _I_  haven't even seen her," said Bella with a shrug, "but I trust that she knows what she's doing. She took nearly seven hours to do it."

"Hello, everyone!" the whispery voice of Luna Lovegood called out. She was coming from the same direction as the Slytherins had, walking ahead of Neville Longbottom who had a giggling blonde girl Tom was unfamiliar with, on his arm.

Lovegood's dress was powder blue with powder blue lace and blue and yellow roses all along the skirt. It was a high-waisted dress that had a blue, butterfly wing train of its own. There was a small, powder blue shawl with a white fur trim, folded around her shoulder. A single butterfly clip was pinned to the side of the girl's blonde hair that almost seemed to move on its own as it hung to her hips in small waves.

Prunella approached her date and held out the bouquet of roses while murmuring an awkward, "You look nice."

Lovegood beamed and took the offered flowers with a happy sigh. "You clean up very well." The compliment had Prunella flushing and looking away, murmuring her thanks in the process.

Bella looked around at them all gathered by the Great Hall doors and said, "Did we all just collectively say _'eff it'_  to the fact that this is a  _Yule Ball_  and we should probably dress accordingly?" Meaning: none of them were dressed in winter-themed clothing save for some fur here and there. Lovegood looked like she was attending a summer wedding.

"Maybe Mione will be on theme," said Bella in contemplation.

"I doubt it."

And that was Ms. Granger joining them, on the arm of one Viktor Krum no less. Her dress was the most extravagant one he'd seen so far. Varying shades of gold and yellow layered over each other to make a massive skirt that perfectly matched the golden bodice. Sparkling fabric was gathered into large golden roses on the left side of the dress, trailing down the ruffles. Granger had managed to flatten her hair somewhat, into more manageable ringlets of brown, and added some light black eyeliner as her only make up choice.

Bella whistled. "Tale as old as time!" she sang in a slightly shaky and very obviously out of tune tone that proved why she decided to be a figure skater instead of a singer.

Granger sent her friend a flat look, but the small twist of her lips was enough to give her amusement away. "Don't even go there. I get the joke and I don't want to hear any more on the subject. I liked the dress and I always wanted to be Belle while growing up."

From the amused look on Bella's face, she didn't plan to let whatever the joke between them was, go any time soon.

* * *

McGonagall popped up not too long after Hermione arrived with her date. Viktor Krum of all people! Hermione had a jock as her date. How the hell had she managed that if she'd been complaining about his fangirls for weeks?

Anyway, Cedric and Fleur had joined up with them by that point too, and Mickey G. was giving them all a stern look over to determine that they were indeed prepared for the Ball.

"Dinner is the first event on the list. It'll last until eight, by then which the Champions will have the first dance to officially open the Ball. It's a Waltz and I trust you all know the dance and won't be embarrassing the schools you came to represent?"

The Champions and their dates all nodded.

"The doors with open exactly at seven. Do not stir up any trouble tonight. Officials from every school involved have come and will wish to get a feel for your personalities. We also have journalists from each represented country here. Be on your best behaviour, but do not fake kindness or decency, they will be able to sense that."

As she walked away to no doubt go yell at another group, Bella turned to Tom and grinned. "I just realised that I can teach you to tango now!"

Hermione coughed in her direction, sending her a wide-eyed look.

Tom's head tilted a bit, the space between his brows dipping in thought. "You mean the dance that made you uncomfortable when you learned it because of how sexual it is?"

_Oh…_

The way he said it so carelessly, made her realise why Hermione looked horrified by her suggestion. It didn't sound exactly right coming from someone who wasn't an adult. Not necessarily a kid, but not an adult.

And no, she did not consider his upcoming 17th birthday the true mark of adulthood. Age was a very curious thing to use to determine someone's maturity and adultness because Bella preferred to have criteria. Like having a work ethic to work in a paying job, being able to support yourself alone if it was required, understanding that you are not the center of the universe and that sometimes your decisions impact others, common fucking decency, and no longer looking like someone too young to go drinking.

Many new ' _adults_ ' were in no way ready for adulthood and all things involved in it.

And Bella knew teens out there were doing the horizontal tango a lot, but they were in a boarding school and she really couldn't see anybody getting it on in Hogwarts without getting caught. The atmosphere of the school didn't  _seem_  like it would inspire some sexy fantasies.

"I'm fifteen now and maybe it's less weird for me  _now_  because I'm not eleven," she suggested after a few moments of awkward contemplation.

Tom stared down at her for a few second, before shrugging. "Okay."

That was easy.

The look on Hermione's face still told her that she did  _not_  think it was an okay thing.

* * *

The Great Hall had been done up in light blues and whites with icicles hanging from every which place and snow falling from the ceiling. The snow disappeared inches above their heads of course, but the aesthetic was lovely to look at.

There was an enormous, white marble dance floor in the center of the room, surrounded by large, round tables with white and blue cloths. The table settings were silver and the crockery bore blue sapphires. They'd spared no expense in showing off for this event.

All the Champions, their dates, and the officials had to take one table. Because there were so many of them, they ended up with the largest table at the far end of the room. They were also assured that they could join their friends after the opening dance and that they didn't have to linger much after that. Just enough for Rita Skeeter and her photographer to get some good photos and material and then the night was theirs. While there were other journalists, they weren't required to make contact with them.

Bella was not oblivious to the fact that when she and Tom sat, Dumbledore was to Tom's right. Thankfully, Prue was on Bella's left so she was sandwiched between people she liked at least.

The charming smile Tom sent the former Headmaster of Hogwarts was almost enough to make her cackle. He was going to spend the entire dinner just fucking with Dumbledore's head and the twat deserved every second coming to him!

She couldn't tell if she disliked Dumbledore or Voldemort more, but it was pretty even between them. Watching either suffer would be a grand ol' time.

McGonagall, who was several places down the table, took up the menu resting on her plate and said, "Seafood Platter, please?"

Within seconds her plate disappeared and reappeared with varying kinds of water-based delights. Bella's eyes landed on the shrimp and she just knew she was about to indulge and suffer for it later.

But it would be a suffering that would be worth it.

* * *

"You know, this isn't so bad," Bella muttered as they spun in place with the other couples. Tom was indeed a good dancer and it felt like they were floating. She didn't worry that he was going to tread all over her toes, or that he'd lose his grip.

To their left were Prue and Luna. Prue was proving that she had remembered whatever lessons she'd been forced through about being an Heiress to a family. She was oddly graceful, very much unlike her normal bumbling. Luna was always graceful so she wasn't really a shock.

Hermione… "How have none of us stepped on Mione's gown?" Bella asked quietly. "It's  _huge_."

"Charms and Runes are often added to clothing that may drag on the ground, thanks to certain design choices. That's also how I haven't stepped on your train. Subtle, magical suggestions that cause the fabric to swish out of the way of incoming feet."

Awesome.

Cedric Diggory was with Cho Chang. Hermione had told Bella about them getting together finally, so it wasn't surprising that they came to the Ball together. Fleur Delacour was with some Ravenclaw that looked kinda familiar but not enough for Bella to place a name to his boring arse face.

Other couples were beginning to join in now as the music swelled, and she could spot Theo and Blaise sliding through the crowd, both graceful as they spun around each other, looking contented even if they didn't want to go together at first.

Tom spun her around and dipped her all of a sudden, her core's physical strength and her faith in Tom to not drop her, were working double time. He smirked down at her, and she leveled the look back at him. A challenge.

Once set to rights again, Bella jerked him forward into a familiar hold while rolling her entire body against his and saying, "Shall I teach you a basic Tango now, dear Tom?"

The raising of his perfect brows, widening of his eyes, and the slight jaw drop she got in response, was what let her know she'd basically won!

It was a nice evening. And Tom was a  _very_  quick learner.

* * *

** YULE BALL FASHION FAUX PAS! DOS and DONT'S!  **

In this article we gather to address the fashion dos and don'ts of the Triwizard Tournament's  
Yule Ball, held at Hogwarts this competition. The students showed up in robes of every kind  
of quality, and some pranksters tried to go in nothing. To preserve your gaze, we left out the  
photos. Just know they were near-traumatising.

**[Photo 1 - Fashion DO! Viktor Krum as seen with his date Hermione Granger.]**

International Quidditch Star Viktor Krum attended the Ball in a fashionable ensemble that  
those from his school shared. The bright red coats and furred cloaks stood out among the  
snowy background of the Ball's decor. His date's golden gown of unknown origin, sparkled  
and complimented her tanned skin nicely. The two made a lovely couple on the dance floor  
and drew many eyes as they twirled this way and that. They knew how to coordinate their  
choices and were striking together.

**[Photo 2 - Fashion DON'T! Fleur Delacour as seen with her date Roger Davies.]**

The Beauxbatons Champion stunned the dancers in a beautiful,  **Le Chaton**  dress of finest  
Acromantula Silk, the silver colour blending in with her glimmering hair and clinging to her  
body like an suggestive embrace. Her date chose a set of dull, ebony robes from  **Madam**  
**Malkin's Robes for All Occasions** , and made no effort to enhance his own appearance.  
The extravagance of her clothing, versus the utter drab of his, made them look like polar  
opposites on the dance-floor and was terribly awkward to watch. They lacked synergy.

**[Photo 3 - Fashion DO! Prunella Potter as seen with her date Luna Lovegood.]**

The Girl Who Lived arrived in an unconventional outfit, but managed to prove that it worked.  
Her robes were a newer style from Twilfitt and Tattings, with minor tweaks made for personal  
preference. The flame red colour of her coat should not have held well against the light blue  
of her date's dress, but surprisingly, they evoked a Fire & Ice sort of feeling. The choice to  
wearing white trousers instead of black, allowed the colour to mix well with the trimmings  
and faux fur of Lovegood's dress. 10/10!

**[Photo 4 - Fashion DO! Belladonna Potter as seen with her date Tomas Night.]**

The two Champions dazzled onlookers unabashedly in their dark ensembles. Night, with his  
perfectly coiffed hair, somehow managed to obtain permission to wear the all black version  
of his school's choice of robes, which ended up complimenting his date's near-over-the-top  
additions to the Twilfitt and Tatting's robes she'd acquired. Yet the accoutrements managed  
to accentuate her personality as well as her figure. Belladonna was especially lively as she  
danced, and the wings of her waist attachment made it seem like she would fly away at any  
moment. The two knew they'd make a handsome couple and made certain to show off their  
finest features and manoeuvres to impress the crowd!

Further photos show you the kinds of styles shown off at the Ball and exactly what people  
thought were the right decisions to make. We humbly disagree and have decided to further  
explain why.

For more on the happenings at the Ball, see Page 3A.

 _Delphine Poppycock_  
_Witch Weekly Fashion Editor_

* * *

Tom looked down at the large book Bella was holding under his nose. On the top corner was an elaborately folded ribbon of green and silver.

"Happy Christmas," the girl said softly. "I figured you've appreciate having this since you never got a chance to read it before."

He hadn't expected the exchange gifts so soon in the day, but of course Bella would just right on it because she had other work to catch up on still.

He accepted the gift and turned it over to get a good look at it.

It was a book on the history of the Slytherin family. A Memoir written by Salazar's hand.

"I found it in the Chamber and finally finished reading it to Prue, so I thought you'd like to have it," said Bella quietly.

Having nothing to himself by his heritage had been a very difficult thing to deal with even back in the forties. And yet Bella was helping him connect to that part of himself even if he couldn't acknowledge it to anyone other than her.

With no prior experience in doing this, Tom was a bit awkward as he wrapped his arms around Bella's trim waist and pulled her in for a hug. He wasn't the best at expressing gratitude, but this he knew she'd understand, because when did Tom ever initiate physical contact between himself and anyone?

He was glad Bella was his friend.

Prunella's voice was echoing in the back of his mind though.

_'I mean you **like**  her.'_

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

**[[1](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/post/182390357965/using-love-nikki-to-make-the-outfits-for-ch-43-of)]** The Yule Ball Outfits for the girls, courtesy of Love Nikki. _(No way to make the_  
_men's outfits. LN focuses mostly on women and there are few male costumes.)_

**H:** **L:** **B:** **P:**

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some chuckles, some drama, some death. The usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -More and more drama comes along! Tom is putting his plans into motion.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

** DOZENS DEAD _in_ AZKABAN ASSASSINATION!  **

Dear readers, over the course of the weekend, something curious and concerning has  
happened on Azkaban Island! On 27 December 2014, each of House Elves of Azkaban  
returned to the Ministry in a state of anxiety. About ¼ of the remaining inmates were  
found dead in their cells. Then the Aurors were dispatched to ascertain the reasoning,  
and they determined many facts.

**1.)**  Every inmate who died abruptly, was a marked Death Eater. **2.)**  That means one  
hundred and seventy-three people are now dead. **3.)** They were each killed by a lone  
snake bite to the throat.  **4.)**  Aurors on the site have since reported a few inmates had  
made complaints of pains an inability to breathe, the night before the attack, but the  
complaints were dismissed as dramatics and possible escape attempts. It wouldn't be  
the first time prisoners faked illness to try and escape.

It is obvious to me that this was a very targeted attack. I would not be embarrassed  
to admit that I feel that these deaths were of no great loss to Magical Britain or the  
world at large. They were terrorists who brutally slaughtered many innocent people.  
Their deaths mean nothing to me personally. However, it is concerning that someone  
was able to break into Azkaban, undetected, and murder nearly two hundred people  
just because they felt like it.

Even after everything the facility has been through to improve in the last few months,  
it's still far too unprepared. If anything, this attack has proven how lax the Aurors are  
and how easy it would be for anyone to sneak in and kill whoever they want. I implore  
the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to start thinking more clearly in regards to  
Azkaban and how to handle this newest situation.

The Ministry, still in hot water after the last scandal involving Azkaban, can't afford for  
more negative press focused on them right now, and that is exactly what will happen.  
Many of those Death Eaters have living family who will want justice for the Ministry's  
oversights. And Minister Pyrites will take full blame for this as it happened under his  
leadership specifically.

And considering all those Death Eaters were Slytherin alumni at one point or another,  
and the new Minister hates Slytherins and wishes to see the House removed entirely  
from Hogwarts, it's looking very suspicious that he's not even in office for two months  
and already a large group of Slytherins is murdered. The Hogwarts Board of Governors  
declined his demands and then Slytherins end up dead.

What are your thoughts of these happenings? Do you think we can trust Ernest Vaun  
Pyrites with the position he has been so generously trusted with? Do you think that  
the families of the dead should hold the Ministry accountable for its failures? And what  
methods should be established at Azkaban to keep future intruders out? Wards? A new  
but better elite force of Aurors specially trained for this type of event? Maybe Muggle  
methods might even be better in the end.

Me, myself, and I are curious to hear your thoughts! They could feature in the next  
issue!

_Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

Barty stiffened when his borrowed eye caught sight of Tomas Night walking down his corridor. Or rather, the corridor in which his office and rooms resided. The Durmstrang boy stopped right outside his classroom for only a second, and unlocked the door with a simple wave of the hand. He then casually, with a saunter Barty had seen somewhere before but couldn't pinpoint, made his way to Barty's rooms and also unlocked that door without a care.

"It's generally considered rude to simply barge into people's rooms," he noted in Moody's gruff voice.

Tomas Night, young and attractive, smirked at him as the door closed behind him, and then locked by itself. As Barty hadn't done it, he knew it had to have been Night behind it. And it made him wary instantly.

"Ah! But these aren't really  _your_  rooms, are they Mr. Crouch? So I'm not truly barging in anyone's anything."

Barty had two options here. Feign confusion, or attack. Night was a threat that even his Lord was concerned about, and he was very certain that Barty was not Alastor Moody and had deliberately locked them both in a room alone.

"I wouldn't do anything if I were you, Barty," said Night, his voice suggesting danger despite the fact that his wand had yet to make an appearance. He was confident in himself. Enough that he felt he didn't need a wand to go against a Death Eater.

"Your Master has become a thorn in my side. Entering my Bella into the Tournament for whatever ritual he thinks he needs her for. I'm none too fond of people taking what is mine and putting it in jeopardy."

Night's expression was stern, but his eyes flashed with a kind of knowing that unnerved Barty. How he knew about the Dark Lord's plan was beyond Barty.

With a single finger, Night cast a non-verbal Flagrate and spelled out three words. TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. "This was the name I was born with," said Night with a sneer. "And yet I made something more impressive out of it when I was fifteen, and your precious Master ruined what it stood for because he lacks foresight." A twist of the hand rearranged the letters to say I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

Barty's jaw fell. It was impossible. The Dark Lord was nearly ninety. He wasn't a teenager.

Night smirked. "Your Master split his soul once upon a time, to avoid death. But the fool continued splitting it, not realising he was losing magic and sanity while doing it. And here we are now. He perverted our original plan with this growing madness and it no longer makes any sense. And I, the first soul piece he split off, have my own body again and absorbed most of the other soul pieces. I am what your Lord  _should_  be. I possess more of his soul than he does."

Horcruxes. Barty was familiar with the ritual even if he would never do it. And he was baffled that someone as great as his Lord would ever fall into such an... irresponsible decision as to split his soul multiple times. It wasn't healthy. Even other Dark Wizards who knew of it wouldn't support it.

"So as I see it, you have a choice, Barty Crouch Jr.," said Tomas Night imperiously. "You can keep following that mad has-been to your grave, or you can choose a different side. Once where I have no need to torture you to get what I want out of you, and one where the public appeal is much better."

Night had a similar feeling to his Lord. He was unnerving, and now that there was an explanation as to why, Barty felt only a little better about the situation they were in.

"It would be foolish to continue serving a man whose just lost most of his foot soldiers in quite the  _unfortunate_  accident." Night's grin turned demented, and Barty was easily able to understand that Night was the one who managed to kill nearly two hundred Death Eaters in the course of a single evening and hadn't gotten caught. The Dark Lord had been murmuring his plans to free them and return them to his service once he had a body again. And now his power had been severely cut down ruthlessly by his own soul.

And Tomas Night was giving Barty a chance to make a better choice. It was either that or death. He wasn't foolish enough to assume that he'd be allowed to walk away alive. That wasn't how the Dark Lord would do it, and his own, much more sane soul piece wouldn't allow that either.

"And of course if you join me, you'll have to apologise to my dear Bella for entering her and her sister into the Tournament."

While part of him was caught on the 'dear Bella' bit, he couldn't help but point out, "I didn't enter Prunella Potter. Albus Dumbledore did. Right before I entered Belladonna Potter actually. The eye can see through everything," he explained, gesturing to Moody's magical eye.

Night hummed.

"What... what is Belladonna Potter to you?" Barty asked, needing to know the answer. She was baffling and he was so very confused about where she stood in regards to everything. The Dark Lord wanted her dead. But now he was interested in her because of what happened while she was under the Imperius Curse. And a piece of the Dark Lord's soul was attached to her in a way that was definitely not normal. It made no sense.

Night smiled. "Bella is very important to me alone. She befriended me and then helped get me a body of my own, using poor Xenohpon Nott without remorse or regret for the ritual."

So that was how he'd up and died suddenly when he'd been in perfect health. It made sense. And a girl like her had been a part of it happily.

"Bella and I aren't so different in our relationship to Voldemort either, which makes her even more important to me."

Horcrux. That was why her eyes had been so unnatural. And the Dark Lord had to be somewhat aware of what she was judging by his questions the last time Barty went to him.

"So, Bartemius," began Night his tone sounding of finality, "what will it be?"

* * *

"Hey, Tom!"

The older teen blinked at suddenly being grabbed so very early in the morning. Of course it was Bella doing the grabbing so he didn't necessarily feel annoyed, but he was completely lost on why it was happening in the first place. There was no reason in his mind for him to be yanked around so bloody early in the day.

"You don't have anything to do today, right?" she asked, looping her arm through his as she began to pull him away from the Kitchens where he'd been planning to have an early breakfast. It was only six in the morning after all and he hadn't been feeling up to dealing with too many people. Not today. Then again that wasn't something new for Tom.

He shook his head at her question, but ended up with one of his own. "Did you finally catch up with all of your schoolwork?"

Bella sighed. "I had to break Aaliyah's rule about not using the TT during the holidays, but yeah. I lived out 96 hours a day sans Sundays during the break, and reconfigured the literal date of my sixteenth birthday because of how much extra time-traveling I've had to do to catch back up. It used to be right after my first Turnback on 28 March, but because I essentially did about 1200 hours in 2 weeks, when I should have only done 336 hours, I had to rework the schedule again."

"So when do you turn sixteen?" And how did she manage to keep up with these numbers so much? It sounded so taxing to the ear. And Tom was someone who enjoyed doing mathematical equations on the regular.

Bella laughed softly and patted his arm consolingly. It was a nice sound he realised, and could stand to hear it some more. "I'm good at maths, Tom, don't worry. Anyway, 11 March during my second Turnback through the day is my new sixteenth birthday, so don't forget it."

He'd been unaware of her 15th until it was right upon them, but he could plan for this one at least. He wouldn't be able to do much, but it'd be nice to surprise her.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked, unsure of their destination since they weren't headed toward any well-known rooms.

"You'll see!" she sing-songed.

When they reached their destination, Bella simply barged right into what was labeled,  **[Professor Black - Office Hours 12-4 on Weekdays.]**.

"Hi, Moony. Hi, Padfoot!" the teen said in greeting as she dragged Tom inside. "We're ready to go. This is Tom by the way."

Two men, whom he would assume were her godfathers, were sat at a small table, a bottle of Ogden's finest - despite it being early in the morning - between them as they played Wizard's Chess. He could tell which one was the Black Lord by his eyes and hair. Unruly black hair and grey eyes was a common trait among that family. The other was Lupin, a Werewolf who didn't look as rough as other Werewolves tended to by the time they reached their fifties.

Lupin smiled serenely and held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Tom."

"Likewise, Mr. Lupin."

Tom then shook Sirius Black's hand, meeting the man's gaze head on. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Black."

The man nodded and looked to Bella. "Is this the last friend we have to meet? Any others you've been hiding somewhere?"

Bella snorted. "Nope. And I only met him in person this term too, so it's not as if he was hiding. He just never came up in conversation because I've got other things to deal with. No offense, Tom, but my world doesn't revolve around you all the time."

"None taken, dearest."

And it was the look on Black's face that made Tom aware of the fact that he had called Bella ' _dearest_ ' in front of her father/godfather. He'd been doing it for so long that it was just natural to respond like that, but with the way Black and Lupin were looking at him, made him want to curse himself for forgetting where he was.

They didn't say anything about it though, which he found a little odd.

"So is the way clear?" Bella asked, gesturing to the Floo.

Lupin waved a hand toward the fireplace and nodded. "Just be back by ten. I'll be here waiting for you both."

"Where are we going?" Tom asked for what felt like the millionth time despite being only the second.

Bella smiled mischievously. "I'm taking you out for your birthday, dude. Pay attention."

No one had ever wanted to celebrate his birthday before. Tom tried not to feel as emotional as he was becoming, but it was difficult. Someone out there actually cared that he existed. Something he'd wanted his entire childhood was now a reality.

* * *

Aaliyah stared down at the young man her adopted daughter had just brought into their home as planned. She hadn't met Tomas Night before today, but seeing as he and Bella had been writing to each other and only met that October, she wasn't sore about not knowing him sooner.

He was taller than Bella, though shorter than Aaliyah. He had the face of an angel, but she wasn't fooled. Angelic looks could hide the deadliest of attitudes and she just wanted to get to know him a little before she entrusted him with her ward's well being for the day.

"Tom, these are Aaliyah and Deborah," Bella said the moment she and her friend were stood in the lounge and no longer covered in soot and Floo Powder.

He was very suave, quick to take their hands and kiss them. Aaliyah had never been one for that sort of greeting, but she had to give it to him, he was charming enough to not make it annoying. Deborah was certainly charmed if her light giggle was anything to go by.

"You're the one who sent us the book on how to acquaint Debs with the Magical World," Aaliyah said. Putting two and two together wasn't difficult. Bella'd gotten the book for Christmas last year and knew who it was from the moment she read the card that came with it. It wasn't from any of her other friends so it had to be from this one.

Tom nodded. "Yes. I thought you would like the assistance."

Deborah smiled. "Thanks. Although if we're being honest, I'm pretty laidback as a person and wasn't all that shocked when I learned about magic. It made certain wonky things Bella had done before make sense. But the book was useful in learning the laws."

"So kiddo, can you do me a favour and go to your room for a few minutes while we have a small talk with your  _friend_?"

Bella's face flattened into a pout. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes," both she and Deborah said plainly. "And it's only for a few minutes. Just some ground rules," Aaliyah added.

Bella patted Tom's arm and sent him a commiserating shake of the head. She then disappeared up the stairs to retrieve the few things she would need for the day anyway.

"Okay, let's get it out there," Aaliyah began sternly. "You may be an adult on the wizard side now, but you're still a minor here. You are a kid. Kiddo may be turning sixteen soon because of those bloody Time Turners, but she is also a kid. Age of consent is sixteen here and she knows there is to be no canoodling of any sort before she is sixteen. Until March there will be no sexual exploration between you, at all, or I can and  _will_  make your life hell. And there will be no snogging or petting of any sort while out in public today because it is 2014 and while by magic she is about to be 16, her fanbase knows her to be 14 and any photo of you both in a questionable position will cause all of us a lot of problems."

It was best for him to be aware of this all now. Bella's career was very important to all of them and people would be up in arms if a fourteen year old _(from their perspective at least)_  was seen doing anything remotely steamy with a boy obviously older than her. Tomas Night could not pass for fifteen. Barely even sixteen. It would be hellish to wade through the drama that would ensue.

The calm and cool exterior of the seventeen year old vanished as she spoke, and his face began to turn pink. She could tell just by watching him, that sex hadn't ever been on his mind in regards to Bella, but it was still necessary to get that information out immediately to prevent any problems from arising between them.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat for good measure. "I would never jeopardise Bella's career, because she cares too much about it for me to ever want to ruin it. And for the record, I have more important things going on, than worrying about sexual intercourse and all that it entails. I'm seventeen and have yet to feel sexual interest in anything or anyone, and while my dormmates think that's something to be concerned about, I simply don't care about it right now."

He was very much like Bella. Some teens were so dedicated to something that they experienced their sexual awakening late. Everyone was different and there was nothing wrong with that. His ambition was affecting how he handled life, just like Bella.

"This was just to get the facts out of the way, kid, don't worry too much about it. We'll be chaperoning you for the day, but not obviously in your face the whole time. Bella drew up a schedule already and she knows what she wants to do."

Aaliyah looked toward the stairs, "You can come out now, kiddo."

Bella bounced down the remaining few stairs and smiled like she hadn't been listening in the whole time. "The shovel talk finished already?"

"Yep. Got your things?"

"Yep! Let's go, Tom! You are about to experience the muggle world in the 21st Century! First stop is breakfast!"

The girl proceeded to tug him out the door and toward the car.

"Today is going to be interesting," Deborah murmured as she grabbed the keys.

* * *

"We're going to the cinema next," Bella told him as they got back into the car after some shopping. "Early times are cheaper and while money isn't an issue, less people show up in the morning than they do in the evening. The theatre will be less crowded right now."

Tom, who was holding a bag of books that Bella had insisted upon getting him as part of his gift - "to make up for the years I couldn't get you anything" she'd insisted - and looking very confused. "What are we seeing?"

"It's a film based upon a broadway musical from the 80s, of the same name. Into the Woods. It's a conglomeration of fairy tales that have been shoved into one musical to explore the consequences of wishing and wanting. I've been wanting to see it especially since it made back four times what it took to make it in the Box Office, and I think you'd like to get a look at how far film has come these days and how much muggles love movies about fantasy and supernatural things."

He hummed, and rummaged through his bag to pull out some of the books he'd gotten. All about science and history of course. Tom was all about knowledge and he wanted to understand what had happened on the non-magical side. Even if he wasn't fond of muggles himself, Tom still considered their knowledge important. How would Magicals avoid suspicion if they didn't know what they were doing?

After the movie, they'd go out for lunch, and then more shopping elsewhere. Then back home where they'd get takeaway and she'd monopolise his time with the telly until they had to go back to Hogwarts.

It was all a part of the plan.

"They sell sweets and other goodies, would you want anything? Not everything is sugary," she told him. "I like getting cheese-filled pretzels and garlic knots."

"Nothing with chocolate," he answered, eyes still riveted on his book. "I don't fancy chocolate."

"BLASPHEMY!"

* * *

"Ugh! This show again?" Aaliyah groaned when Bella went to put the first DVD into the player.

"Hey! I like it!" the teen insisted. "And it's a beautiful creation that damn well deserves respect! Also, Tom hasn't seen it and I want him to get a feel for why I like horror and suspense."

Deborah shook her head. "It's just all murder and talking though. How you got into it is beyond us."

"But it's murder done  _tastefully_  with scintillating and appetizing conversations to fill you up!"

"Ugh! Here we go with the cannibal puns!" Aaliyah said, already heading for the stairs. "No funny business while we're upstairs, kiddo. And don't forget to offer him refreshments. Be a good host."

While her guardians headed upstairs, Tom made himself comfortable on the sofa. "What are we watching?"

Bella grinned a shark-like grin. "Hannibal."

* * *

Tom had read about what using Time Turners was like, but no amount of reading could ever actually prepare him for what it was like. The books all detailed the same sensation, and yet he found that they didn't do it any justice. He felt like he'd just ascended into the sky on a broom at a speed far too fast for him to keep up with, and then returned to the ground just as quickly.

It was over in a few seconds. Or none at all if they went back in time with it. Time-travel was a tricky business and one had to be careful when doing it otherwise they'd lose their sanity.

"How do you do this so often?" he had to ask the moment his wits were about him once more. He felt a little ill frankly and he didn't trust himself to move without falling over.

Bella smiled. "I have this dry erase board that I taped up in certain places to keep certain words and sections in place. I checkmark each section of the way to keep myself aware of where I'm at in time. I then erase it at the end of the 72 hour period so I can reuse it again the next time. I shrink and enlarge it constantly, and usually keep it in the Slytherin Locket now with a purple marker."

That made sense. Not even Tom would be naturally able to mentally keep up with how much her schedule required.

They were stood in an unused classroom on the ground floor he was certain. The same one Bella had used in front of him before. She did this a lot.

Bella removed the chain of the Time Turner from his neck and slipped the hourglass beneath her shirt once more. "Are you going to get some sleep now or will you just stay up all day? We were gone for seventeen hours and did a lot of stuff today."

"I'm not tired yet. I'm actually hungry, and breakfast is still on for the next forty minutes or so," he said, looking at Bella's watch.

Hmmm. After eating so many new things in the last seventeen hours, it would be nice to get something he was used to. Just for the comfort of the familiarity.

"Okay, I'm on for food. I like eating." Yes, he'd learned that very well too. If she wasn't carefully monitored, Bella would have no issue with eating anything her heart desired, in bulk.

He proceeded to escort her to the Great Hall, where they found her usual group of friends seated at the Slytherin Table, gabbing away about the local gossip about the most popular Hogwarts students.

Luna Lovegood smiled when they arrived and said, "Did you have a nice birthday, Tom?"

He nodded. "I acquired much knowledge." Seven books, new insights into the muggle side of things, and a better understanding of the world as a whole. He also got to learn more about Bella and her interests, having committed everything she told him to memory because he felt it would be important to remember at some point.

"It's your birthday?" Neville Longbottom asked.

Tom tipped his head just the slightest. "I'm seventeen today."

"Yeah, I wanted to make his birthday special since he's never celebrated it before," Bella added as she filled an empty plate with fruits. "No one's ever wanted to celebrate Tom's b-day before, so I decided to make up for all the fuck ups of the world by giving him a full experience. We lost some time for a bit there, but got it back so it's all G."

Her friends understood her vague meaning instantly. Time-travel had been involved, and none of them seemed concerned or jealous in the least.

Hermione Granger simply asked, "You got permission to leave?"

"Batman, Padfoot, and Moony. So three teachers, one being the Deputy Headmaster. It was a fun day imo."

Tom nodded. "A lot of new experiences, but I too enjoyed them."

* * *

** ALASTOR MOODY KIDNAPPED _and_ IMPERSONATED!  **

Just this morning, a large, black trunk was found on the steps of the Great Hall inside  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Resident Dark Arts expert Alastor Moody  
was nowhere to be found when the staff decided to investigate the strange item. It was  
Deputy Headmaster Severus Snape who took swift control and searched the item for  
nefarious spells or substances. When it was revealed to be safe to go near, he opened  
the trunk and found none other than Alastor Moody inside!

As shown by the photo above, the man is incredibly gaunt and ill, showing a prolonged  
period of starvation and lack of sunlight. When questioned, the man swore that he had  
been attacked in his own home by none other than Barty Crouch Jr., whom we all know  
should be dead in Azkaban's own graveyard. But Moody, despite being well-known for his  
madness, swore on his magic that he was telling the truth as he knew it. That somehow,  
Barty Crouch Jr. had been keeping him alive to use his hair for the Polyjuice Potion he'd  
been routinely consuming right in the walls of Hogwarts.

Potions Master Severus Snape added that there had been suspicious lack in Boomslang  
Skin, which is a prominent ingredient in the potion, in his Potions Stores in most recent  
months. Moody's hair is also nearly completely gone, showing that someone had to have  
been consuming a lot of the potion if they needed the ingredients that often for it.

Inside the imposter's rooms, were Moody's wand, a flask that still had the remnants of  
the Polyjuice Potion inside of it, and a small letter saying, 'Alastor's use is up and the  
Potter girl is not likely to survive the rest of the Tournament so there is no need for  
me to remain here.'.

I find it concerning that a wanted criminal, as far as we know, managed to sneak into  
Hogwarts so effortlessly that not even Moody's long time friend Dumbledore noticed  
there was something off about him. Secondly, the impostor admitted to entering at  
least one of the Potter twins into the Triwizard Tournament with hopes that the child  
would die! Finally, this person has escaped the castle and the grounds and is nowhere  
to be found.

According to sources that are under oath and wish to remain entirely anonymous, the  
impostor managed to obtain permission to not only teach the Unforgivable Curses in  
class, but also demonstrate them personally. Then he forced each student under the  
Imperius Curse and could have at any time, forced them to do something unsavoury!  
And none of the staff thought this to be a concerning demand from him? And the kids  
were told to keep it to themselves?

First Azkaban and now Hogwarts. Both that are said to be some of the safest and most  
protected places in the world, not so impregnable after all. A place where children of all  
ages were forced to experience an Unforgivable Curse when the Ministry has long said  
such practices weren't necessary and shouldn't be allowed? A place where we can see  
the professors who are in charge of the students and their well being, can't seem to get  
it together either.

Is this really somewhere our children should be attending if alleged terrorists can just  
walk in and no one notices something off about them? And why didn't Dumbledore  
notice anything? He and Moody worked very closely during the war and yet even he  
was fooled by the impostor!

Outraged at the growing problems in our great society right now,

_Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

It was at the next training session with the Welsh National Team, that Prue was made aware of some shocking and yet not so unexpected information if one really sat back to think about it.

"Because the Quidditch World Cup Final match ended in a tie, which has only happened a handful of times in the history of our sport, the Departments of International Magical Cooperation of Magical Britain and Bulgaria have agreed to a rematch this coming August," said Gwenog Jones, who was their Team Manager.

"But this throws the entire future of the League out of balance!" protested Yuri McLaughlin. Her sweet exterior seemed to take a beating under this new information. She looked completely down-trodden.

They'd worked incredibly hard to get to the Final and then to tie such a well-rounded team as the Bulgarian National Team. Having to redo the match and possibly lose to them was heart-breaking in a way. It also messed with a lot of people's schedules.

Gwenog shrugged. "This is why we need to fill up our practice schedules leading up to August. I want you to drill every known, legal Quidditch manoeuvre. I want you all to acquire the best brooms you can manage. This is going to take a lot of work and you won't be getting off easy."

It was shite that they only learned about this in January. They could have been putting in extra training starting right after the WCF back in August. Now they had less time to prepare.

Jackie sighed. "We'll all have to pitch in 110%, okay? There's a lot on the line with this upcoming match and it could mean the world for our team. Bulgaria has won many times while we haven't we  _need_  to turn the tide."

* * *

"I can't believe that there was a Death Eater in the school," said Hermione with a shake of the head. "And when I questioned teaching us the Unforgivables, I had been right! He shouldn't have done it if even the Ministry is angry!"

Her friends were nodding, all equally shocked by what had happened recently. Meanwhile, Tomas Night simply sat back with a smile, a cup of summoned tea in hand as he read through a science book Bella had gotten him for his birthday.

"Did you have something to do with this?" she asked the older teen.

His 'innocent' smile didn't fool her in the least. "I said I would, Ms. Granger. I learned some interesting information too. Bella, whatever happens during the Third Task, you are to wait for me and not leave my side once I find you."

Bella frowned. "Why?"

"Because Voldemort planned to have you kidnapped from the Task for his ritual, and I would rather you be in the safest place possible, even when his minion is no longer capable of helping him. He has two others at his disposal still."

That set off alarms for the rest of the teens.

"So he entered Bella only?" asked Blaise.

"Yes. According to him only Bella was part of the plan." Tom's mouth shifted into a frown. "Albus Dumbledore entered Prunella before Barty entered Bella that night."

And Hermione wans't shocked to learn that bit considering everything they'd learned about Albus Dumbledore. The man was becoming more annoying than Voldemort. "We need to tell Prue about that, just to keep her on her toes."

Bella looked like she wanted to commit murder. Hermione wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to stop her best friend from doing it too. Sometimes certain people did things that made you have to stop and think. And when Hermione did that, she got angry.

Because Dumbledore desperately wanted Prue to fight Voldemort, instead of standing up to the man that he was supposedly more powerful than according to literally  _everyone_ , he was willing to put her in danger just to get her to train finally. That was a terrible thing to do to someone, so Bella wanting to take him out now, was understandable and damn near justified.

There was so much that had to be fixed! Hermione had an entire notebook full of observations she'd made, plus possible solutions to the problems she'd noted. Albus Dumbledore was a problem and there seemed to be only one solution when it came to dealing with him.

She regretted that the solution seemed to be death.

* * *

Bella made sure to double check her skates before getting on the ice that morning. She'd been up on it lately because of what happened to her skates back at the JGPF. Aaliyah also wouldn't let her on the ice until they both were certain nothing could happen.

On another note, Aaliyah had been approached by some other skaters lately.

Years ago, Bella had been made aware of the fact that maybe one day she would end up having to share Aaliyah's time if she ever took on more skaters. She hadn't expected it to happen so soon, but after Bella's win at the Final, and the never-ending amount of praise she and Aaliyah had gotten for it in the articles soon after, people had been coming out of the woodwork to ask after Aaliyah's time.

So far, there were four people that the woman was considering. Not all at once. She didn't think she'd be able to handle coaching five people at the same time, but just one of the four.

Aaliyah had expectations and a certain way of looking at things. She had to see if she would vibe with the potential skaters. She also had to make certain that she didn't get so used to Bella and how she handled everything, that she was unfair to others. Bella's situation was a unique one, with her Twice-Blessed ability allowing her to succeed in things she liked doing.

Not everyone was like that and wouldn't be able to grasp things as quickly as Bella.

In no time, Bella would probably have to share the ice during her practice every day. She'd been renting it out six days a week for a specific time slot for over a year, but would probably have to split the bill now. Or she could just be nice and let her fellow skater benefit without emptying their pockets.

Bella wasn't a greedy arsehole after all. She wouldn't die from having to share the ice with one other person after all.

* * *

"I absolutely refuse to believe that you don't know what the Second Task is so will you please be the sweetheart you can sometimes be, and just tell me what it is so I can be prepared?" Bella asked Tom, batting her lashes obscenely in hopes that he would be swayed.

Tom wasn't of course, but he found her dramatics to be amusing, and allowed her to continue for a while longer because he wanted to see just how far she would be willing to go to get the information out of him.

Next came the latching onto and shaking of his arm, which was something she actually tended to do often, so he wasn't moved. Then there was the pouting which was also something she liked to do on the regular and he only felt a little  _something_  in his stomach at the sight of it. Finally, when it became obvious that nothing else was working, Bella decided to try the last thing she could probably think of.

She wrapped her arms around him in the very first, full on embrace they'd ever had. Before now it had been casual, one-armed holds that lasted a few seconds here and there. But Bella had never pressed her entire body against his front. Not even their dancing at the Yule Ball had been anything like this. And she'd taught him basic Tango manoeuvres.

Her arms were wrapped completely around his neck and she stared up at him intently, making him feel like he wasn't getting enough air all of a sudden, things were getting warm and his heart was pounding erratically, which was unusual for someone like him. Tom had never experienced something like this in regards to something not dangerous to his well-being. He didn't know what to do.

"Please, Tom?" the younger teen asked imploringly. Her eyelashes were very long, he'd just realised. Darker than even her hair was. And they framed the unique green so nicely. He concluded very easily that Bella wouldn't need makeup to enhance her eyes when they were naturally enhanced.

"What are you both  _doing_?"

The two pulled away from each other as the familiar voice of the Hogwarts Deputy Headmaster interrupted them. The man was eying Tom with obvious distrust and there was something in his dark gaze that promised pain that the man obviously knew how to deliver. Tom was actually, mildly concerned.

"Um…" Bella began, but the Potions Master would not have it, it seemed.

"You will follow me, Ms. Potter.  _Now_. Mr. Night, I'm certain you have more important things to do with your time. Be about them."

The man then turned and sauntered away dramatically, his cloak billowing behind him.

Bella waved forlornly, but followed her Head of House, no doubt knowing what would happen if she had disobeyed.

Tom was still somewhat caught on the accusing tone the former Death Eater had used. Just what had he thought was going on between Tom and Bella in the first place?

* * *

"Ms. Potter, I don't often think of you as someone lacking any common sense but I must for once point out to you the foolishness of your association with this young man when you do not know who he is and what he is about."

Severus hadn't been this emotionally invested in a student in some time, and he hated every second of it. But it was necessary. She had to be careful. She, no matter the maturity she displayed on a constant basis, was still a teenager with hormones that oscillated between excitement and gloom on a constant basis. Enough to give one severe whiplash.

Belladonna Potter quirked a thin brow at him and smirked a little. "Don't worry, sir," she said with confidence that wasn't at all bravado, "I know a lot more about Tom than even you or Karkaroff do. I'm the one that told him to help Theo by killing Xenophon Nott. But not without securing a few loose ends for me first of course."

The lack of shame in her manner and tone made him both terrified and intrigued. She was just a teenager and yet she had been a willing accomplice in premeditated manslaughter. And she felt no regret over it either. Though seeing as the victim was Xenophon Nott, Severus could at least understand given the type of person he'd been in life.

But still! A child had helped a man be murdered and she seemed amused by it. And she obviously must know a lot about Tomas Night if she was this far in the know about his actions.

"You know of his origins?" Severus asked quietly, wishing to ascertain exactly how close the two of them were beyond mild groping in public.

Her smirk deepened. "I know the truth of his origins, and I know the tale of origins that was told to Karkaroff to keep him in line. Tom loves using that against him as punishment for his past actions."

The way she'd worded that… meant that what Karkaroff knew to be the truth, wasn't necessarily the truth. He had no doubt that some of it was true of course, because the best lies always contained a modicum of truth, but definitely not all of it. And Belladonna Potter  _knew_  the whole truth and didn't seem to find it concerning. But if she'd known the boy for longer than this school year had showed, then of course she would know more about him than anyone else.

"You play a dangerous game, Ms. Potter," he told her, wanting her to understand just what she could be getting herself into by befriending such a person as Tomas Night.

"I know, sir. But I also know that you know a lot about dangerous games. The side I've chosen is much more beneficial to me, than the one you've chosen is for you. Might I suggest you rethink your position in the future and what you want out of life? One side has no one fighting for them because of an old man who worships the prophecy of an old drunkard, and the other just  _somehow_  lost a considerable amount of its supporters most recently and is sadly powerless."

She then took her leave, and Severus stared after her, long after his office door was closed and he was left to stew in silence.

Change was coming and Tomas Night, Belladonna Potter, and all her little friends, were going to be at the forefront of it. And she knew enough about Severus to know that he was on Dumbledore's side, if only barely. Because it wasn't Voldemort's side, and Severus would never choose Voldemort ever again. And she also believed that Dumbledore's side wasn't the best side for any of them.

But now he was made aware of another side and the chances of him agreeing with that one more, sounded like they'd be very high. Especially if Tomas Night was beyond the mass murder of the Death Eaters in Azkaban like the girl had been implying.

He would wait. He would watch. He would listen.

And Albus would be easy to deflect if he continued to think Severus felt indebted to him.

* * *

"Why do you have so many more competitions now than you did last year?" Theo ended up asking because he'd finally gotten a look at Bella's training schedule and he honestly didn't know how she kept up with it all.

"I'm a Junior now," Bella told him. "As a Novice, no matter how Advanced I was, it would seem a bit morally unethical to have a Novice running around so much. Aaliyah is less concerned too because I'm technically about to be sixteen thanks to the you-know-what I have. So I  _am_  old enough to handle additional work."

Hermione nodded. "This is also a way to spread her name around. Bella competing in all these international competitions and hopefully winning them will be attention-getting and will have people watching her. This includes rink officials, the International Skating Union, and even sponsors. Also, when Bella wins enough gold medals, she'll be up for consideration and possibly up for an invitation to compete in the Olympics when they roll around again because she'll be a Senior and can compete by then."

"Yepperooni!" Bella greed. "So starting this new year, to the end of the skating season in July, I have Skate Helena in Serbia from 20-24 January. The Dragon Trophy in Slovenia from 12-15 February. Junior Worlds on 2-8 March in Estonia. Finally I have the Egna Spring Trophy on 22-24 March in Italy. After that, the season will be over for me essentially. No other competitions I could possibly make it to. I'll be going to even more as a Senior."

It sounded so stressful. Bella did so much work all the time, and had to juggle magical training, physical training, homework, the tournament, and personal issues that had to be dealt with if she wanted life to remain as 'easy' as it was at present.

"Did you know it was going to be like this when you were little?" he asked. Like did she know that she was going to have to do all of this when she decided ti would be her career?

"Like what?"

"Hard?"

She shrugged. "I expected difficulty, but not this much honestly. If my existence wasn't so convoluted, I wouldn't be struggling as much with life in general. But it's fine. I'm not dying or anything so it's okay. And honestly I would work even harder if it was necessary."

The ultimate Slytherin.

* * *

"We're going to work on you casting the Patronus in this session," said Tom as he twirled his wand around almost carelessly. "I told you to read up on the spell and then come in with any questions you had and I will try my best to answer you. Anyone have something they wish to be clarified?"

The small group were all sat before him on cushions the Room of Requirement had provided for them so they weren't seated on the cold, stone floor. They were all dressed for exercise.

Both Bella and Hermione's hands shot up instantly. The difference was that Ms. Granger had a piece of lined paper in her lap with a long list of words on it.

He almost winced at the sight of it. "How about I answer Bella's since she seems to only have one question, and then I'll answer all of yours in order?" he suggested, to which she nodded reluctantly.

"'Kay, so I got a new a Christmas gift that I'd asked for back in November. It's a monster film that came out last year, called Godzilla. Originally thought of in Japan in like, the fifties. In the new version he's about 100 m. tall and like 90K metric tonnes. And while I was watching the battle between the monsters, and Godzilla was firing his atomic breath down the enemy's throat, I just stopped to think,  _'hey! It'd be cool if my Patronus was Godzilla!'_  'cause you know, it's supposed to represent something you trust to protect you. And then I wondered  _could_  it be Godzilla? And then I got to thinking about dinosaurs and could a Patronus be a dinosaur because they  _did_  exist at one point and I read that some magicals have magical creature Patroni like Phoenixes and Dragons so I was curious."

She managed to say it all in a single breath and Tom was amazed. Also, he saw Granger furiously scribbling out several points on her list. Apparently, both she and Bella really did think alike often if they managed to come up with the same ideas and questions separately.

He had to think about her question though as it had never been something he thought he would need to consider. "I'm not sure," he admitted. " **Expecto Patronum**  means, _'I await the protector'_  and doesn't indicate that it  _will_  be an animal. It's just that every Patronus recorded thus far, has been an animal, or a magical creature. Merlin's was a Phoenix. Morgana's was a Dragon. Even Dumbledore's is a Phoenix. Of course those are all creatures that exist currently.

"I would assume dinosaurs are possible. I'm not certain about a fictional character thought up by humans though. I suppose we'll have to work on you learning the Patronus and then see what happens. Would you trust this Godzilla, or a T-Rex to protect you?"

"Hell yeah! It would be the most awesome thing to have Godzilla as my Patronus!"

"Then who knows?"

* * *

"My Lord... I-I have some terrible news."

"What is is now, Wormtail?"

Oh, why did he have to be the one to tell the Dark Lord about it? Why was Bellatrix never around when bad things always happened? It wasn't fair!

"B-Barty was discovered at Hogwarts and is nowhere to b-be found, my Lord. It's been almost a week- five days to be precise, and the Ministry hasn't found him, but he also hasn't returned t-to your side."

He saw it coming. He'd known it would happen because he knew his Lord so well! And yet he hadn't been able to dodge the Curciatus Curse as it came at him!

"INSOLENCE!"

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming upon the Second Task!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Finally, we get more on James and Lily.
> 
> -Tom and Bella are adorable together.
> 
> -And things on the non-magical side are very curious.
> 
> -I've been sick for the last 2 weeks and it sucks so much.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Well, I am pleased to inform you that you're about eleven weeks pregnant! The procedure was a complete success and you are nearly through your first trimester!"

Lily stared at the machine. There wasn't an ounce of pride in the fact that she was with child. Not like how she'd been the first time she'd been pregnant. After having children and them growing up to be worthless brats, she wasn't as dazed by the 'beauty of motherhood' like she'd been years ago. And besides, she'd found a lot of the things people said about pregnancy and the wonders of it, to be rather false anyway.

This child was only there for a single purpose. To help Lily get back the Ladyship of the Gaunts. Even if it was the only one left that she had a chance at, it would have to do. She didn't want another child, but sacrifices had to be made if she wanted a comfortable life once more.

"The window of time we can give you is late August to mid-September. We won't know anything concrete until you get further along and we can see more details in the fetus, but this is great news anyway!" the doctor went on to say, her painted lips pulling into a wide smile.

If the child was conceived early December, then September was most likely the month to pay attention to. That would mean things would have to be set into motion sooner rather than later.

Her partner, a friend from the side Branch of the Smith family, would be thrilled to know that their efforts were a success. He'd then want marriage to save the child from the social drama of being a bastard, and while she didn't want to marry anyone, for stability she'd do it. And it would be a good chance to get her back into society's good graces. The Smiths had a decent amount of pull among the magical populace and having the name tacked on at the end of her own would be beneficial.

She'd have influence again, and would no longer have to face the shame of having nothing but magic to keep her afloat.

And her lover, the fool that he was, was completely unaware of any of her thoughts. He'd fancied her back in school, but she hadn't found him interesting and had shunned all his offers. But the moment she smiled in his direction back in December, he's fallen right back into his attitude of forty years prior. So glad to have finally gotten what he wanted that he didn't even stop to consider why she would even look in his direction  _now_  when he hadn't changed all that much and was nothing more than a glorified assistant at the Ministry.

But his blindness was a boon to her plans, so she smiled charmingly and allowed him his fantasies.

The child was the key. The child was the proof she needed. Even if she didn't want a child, she still needed it.

* * *

Luna hummed as she dragged Prue through Hogsmeade on their way to Honeyduke's. Getting the girl to agree to an outing had taken careful planning and time. Luna had already known she would accept of course, but that was  _after_  watching seven different outcomes of the other times she'd planned to ask. This time had been the best one.

Prue had training to do after noon, so the morning was free for her to do whatever before heading off. She'd said something about wanting chocolate-covered fruit and Luna already knew the kind she'd wanted.

She knew a lot of things. "It's a shame we don't have anything like the muggle milkshakes," Luna said. "I want another chocolate one terribly, but don't know how to make one."

"Milk and ice cream," was Prue's answer. "Mixed really well I think. Basically the same way with smoothies. Milk, frozen fruits, and that stuff called yogurt. We don't have the technology that muggles have to make them and I don't think a Cutting Charm would work well enough though."

Maybe Luna could invent something on the side to take care of those problems. Muggles had some wonderful ideas. And unlike other magicals, Luna would actually give credit where it was due.

"I'll think of something," she promised. "Some day we'll be able to make our own milkshakes and smoothies and not have to travel all the way to muggle London to get them."

"I mean- Outside school it's just a Floo to The Leaky Cauldron and then a small walk to find somewhere."

"True, but I don't want to have to leave my house just to get a milkshake. I want to make as many as I want and not worry about cost. Muggles charge more for what  _looks_  like a large beverage containment device, when really you're receiving a lot less than what is being advertised."

Prue hummed in agreement. The amusement park had been expensive when they went for the twins' shared birthday party. Everything was so much despite very little being given in terms of portion sizes.

Bonding over food was a great plan. Luna was a genius.

* * *

**TOM! Entertain me while I wait for the competition to start!**

Every time. She did this every single time. Now Tom didn't mind talking to Bella because she was probably the most important person in his life and was always interesting to speak with, but even Tom had moments where he didn't want to be bothered by anyone at all. Especially when he was in the middle of studying to finish his education.

He was a Sixth Year who was doing work ahead of time to take his N.E.W.T.s early and he wanted to get extra practice out of the way.

_What can I possibly do to entertain you through a book? You are surrounded by_  
_muggle electronics and inventions. There are televisions all around you. Radios._  
_Libraries. Cinemas. No doubt many other things I can't even begin to remember._  
_Why do you always do this when I'm studying? Why are you so needy?_

**:(**

_Don't._

He was not in the mood.

Not tonight.

**:((((((**

_I'm not going to fall for your little act._

**T_T**

_Fine! What do you want?!_

Bella was very talented at getting him to give in. He hoped she never became aware of just  _how_  attuned to her happiness he was, or he'd be done for. She was very good at capitalising off of anything. It was her Slytherin nature peering out and taking its place when it had the chance.

He'd rather her not do it to him if he could help it.

Not  _too_  often at least.

**:)**

_I hate you._

**Fuck off, you love me!**

A usual exchange between them.

Oddly enough, it made him smile every time she wrote it. It was such a Bella thing to say.

He hoped she'd never change no matter how much he might complain over little things.

_If I 'fuck off' as you put it, then you'll have no one to entertain you. And wasn't_  
_that Sandra Lewis girl going to that competition too? Go bother her if you need_  
_someone's attention so badly._

**I can only handle her in small doses though. She is too bubbly for me to**  
**tolerate in mass quantities!**

_Lovegood is bubbly._

The blonde hummed to herself, and could sometimes be found talking to herself even. She fell into visions of the Past, Present, and Future quite often, and was always swaying from place to place. It was like she was dancing on air even. Her voice was light and airy, and she seemed to be perpetually up in the clouds, an easy smile on her face.

Rarely was she unhappy. Rarely did she frown. And she always had advice and positive hints about the future for everyone.

Lovegood was the very  _definition_  of bubbly.

**Luna is a free spirit. She's like a stoner from the 70s, but less creepy or**  
**weird, and minds her own business even when she knows TOO MUCH of**  
**everybody else's business whether by choice or not. She does not annoy**  
**me and she does not make me feel like all of my energy is being sucked**  
**out of me the longer her gob is going.**

_Why don't you simply tell the Lewis girl you don't like her and be done with it?_

That's what Tom would do.

He wasn't a very nice person.

**I don't hate her and I don't dislike her, I just don't want to be hanging**  
**out with her all the bloody time. Sometimes there are people that you**  
**just don't vibe with no matter how hard you try. Hanging out with her is**  
**like this constant struggle to be normal and while I'm not like I used to**  
**be, I'm still awkward around strangers and people who I haven't gotten**  
**to know very well.**

**No matter how outgoing I may seem, that isn't exactly the truth of my**  
**character. I am not comfortable around massive groups of people. I am**  
**not comfortable speaking to massive groups of people. And I suck at**  
**making friends. I really do.**

_You roped me into your orbit pretty well for someone who is supposedly terrible_  
_at making friends._

As noted many times before, their friendship made no sense. It shouldn't have worked as well as it did. But it did!

If Bella could win over and change someone as self-contained and conceited as Tom Marvolo Riddle, she could handle anyone.

**More like I forced my company on you for like three years because there**  
**was no way for you to escape my presence so you just had to acclimate to**  
**my temperament.**

_True, but I became fond of you through that._

**Aw!**

_Please don't start this again._

Her desire to label him as a 'sweetheart' was annoying.

Tom was not a good person.

**But you're being so sweet, Tom! This little heart to heart to ours is going**  
**to make me cry. Legit tearing up as we speak, dude!**

_I wouldn't call it a heart to heart. More like I'm being tolerant while you whinge._

**I am NOT whinging.**

_Excessive use of the frowny face says otherwise, dear Bella._

**You aren't allowed to be mean to me.**

_It's not being mean, it's telling the truth. You're the one taught me the phrase_  
_'truth hurts'._

**Stop using stuff I taught you against me! Not cool!**

_I am merely demonstrating the fact that I do pay attention when you tell me_  
_something and am willing to call you out if it's necessary. **THAT**  is what true_  
_friendship is or so I've read._

**:P**

_Now go and find something to do, and let me get back to my studying please?_  
_Part of it was constructing a new schedule for the next training sessions we'll_  
_be having in the future._

If she wanted to learn, she had to let him work.

Simple.

**Fine. I can see when I am not wanted. I suppose I will just have to go**  
**outside earlier than planned and deal with creepy, old men who catcall**  
**me as I just try to get from place to place, earlier than planned.**

_Drama Queen._

_Though if someone touches you without permission, hit them without holding_  
_back._

And find out their name so she could tell Tom about it later and then he could hunt them down.

* * *

§ ** _I just wish I knew what was being planned!_** § Prue hissed in agitation as she leaned against Alesandese. § _ **The hint I got was shite. If they were trying to help, they did the opposite of helping!**_ §

The great serpent's tongue flicked out to scent the air and she gave a hissy hum. § ** _There are many creature nesting in the forest. More than usual._** §

Prue blinked in confusion. § ** _How do you know that?_** §

§ ** _I was in the forest last night and could scent them. Silk spinners, flame breathers, and death bringers in different directions._** §

And suddenly Prue was sitting up, completely alert as the meaning of those words crashed down upon her. § _ **How did you get out to the forest?**_ §

§ ** _One of the entrances to the Chamber is in the forest. I can leave whenever I want so long as I hiss at it. There's one that leads to the water too, that I don't use as often. That's how there's water in here._** §

Alesandese had been living for a thousand years and had many ways of getting in and out of the Chamber of Secrets. She could come and go as she pleased the entire time! So all that tripe about Salazar's 'monster' wanting to slaughter the students, or specifically, muggleborns, was most definitely untrue if she could do whatever she wanted because of Parseltongue passwords, and chose to do nothing dastardly when she had every opportunity.

Prue had a new appreciation for the serpent now and pressed a hand against the scales of her face. § ** _Do you know exactly what all these creatures were being gathered for?_** §

§ ** _A special hunting game._** §

The Second Task was going to be a Scavenger Hunt. A dangerous one.

* * *

The Dragon Trophy was taking place in Slovenia from 12-15 February 2015, and Bella was lucky it was right before the Second Task. The Task was on the 23rd, and this gave her time to get back to Britain and have everything prepared ahead of time. She'd also have an arseload of homework to work through and would prefer to get it out of the way ASAP.

It was her first legit competition since the JGPF and she was still no closer to finding out who tried to sabotage her skates. She couldn't think of anyone with malicious intent. Aaliyah didn't feel like sharing her thoughts on the matter, and simply had a long talk with Sirius and Remus about it while Bella was in the middle of school.

Bella didn't interact with many skaters. To some that could come across as pretentious. It wasn't  _her_  fault that she found people boring and annoying and couldn't tolerate being around too many of them at once. The Press Conferences after competitions were hell enough to get through.

As a result of what happened at the JGPF, Bella was not allowed to leave anything of hers unattended for any period of time. She was now expected to keep her bag slung over her shoulder no matter what, unless she was headed to the loo, then Aaliyah would guard her things. Reporting what had happened had been pointless without proof.

It could just be taken as them making up drama to try and get pity points. It could also be taken as Bella being irresponsible and not taking care of her possessions, which wouldn't be beneficial to either of them in the long run. So the mystery had to stay between them for the foreseeable future.

"Ready to order?"

She looked up to find Lewis staring expectantly at her. They were sat down for lunch before the competition started, and Bella had gotten lost in thought while perusing the menu.

"Yeah. I'll get a grilled chicken salad." Something light so she didn't get a stomach ache mid-program.

Lewis pouted as she looked over her own menu. "I want chicken tenders with a chocolate milkshake. But they're kind of greasy and unhealthy and mum told me not to get anything unhealthy."

"I mean, do you think you can get away with it and she won't  _know_?" No point in  _not_  doing something if you weren't going to get caught.

The girl shrugged. "I'm gettin' 'em anyway. I'm already taking her energy drinks all the time, so she can't be angry at me for wanting something that's actually  _good_. I do what she wants all the time, wanting some thing different for once doesn't make me a bad daughter."

Lewis placed a blue thermos on the table. One Bella had seen her lugging around before, but never thought twice about because Bella tended to carry water bottles or Gatorade with her everywhere. Most skaters had some form of drink at the ready.

"Mum makes these drinks homemade and always has me drinking them. They smell great! It's just not translated well to the taste buds, which is wack as hell. I do feel energetic and bubbly and kind of floaty but my tongue is always like, yuck! Smell it and tell me what you think it'd taste like!" She proceeded to uncap the top and hold it under Bella's nose.

That did not smell like food. "I mean… it smells good, but I wouldn't eat books and parchment."

Lewis frowned. "It smells like peppermint and chocolate."

"Not to me. I'm a chocoholic and I smell no chocolate in that. What's it taste like?"

"Like piss," Lewis grumbled childishly. "And it  _kinda_  looks like it too. Look!" She proceeded to pour some into the cap, showing Bella that the drink was a shimmery yellow/gold and pearly mix of colours that swirled around every time the cap shifted just the slightest. They didn't necessarily blend together into a single colour, but the two swirled around almost hypnotically.

It didn't look appealing to be honest. The two opposing colours looked like water and oil refusing to blend and the gold was watery compared to the weird thickness the pearly portion had. "And you have to drink that how often?"

"One dose a day. Mum makes all kinds of home remedies by herself. Doesn't trust modern medicine to save her life. We have this state of the art kitchen and she keeps everything jarred and labeled to the T in the cupboards. She cooks everything, so we don't eat out much, and she doesn't like it when I try to help because I'll  _'contaminate the ingredients'_  or something. If we're not practicing, she's cooking all the time. She's always making me drink these and they're gross."

Damn. Thank God Aaliyah didn't feel like making Bella drink nasty, homemade energy supplements! She would have to rebel if that ever happened. Bella could understand not trusting medicines though. She felt the same with with medication and potions. It was hard to tell if they were safe of not in regards to competitions and drug tests.

"I feel for you." And she felt a little more closer to Lewis as a result. A new piece of information to help her understand the other girl better.

Lewis nodded. "Thanks, dude." Her face then twisted up a bit. "Why do you know what parchment smells like?"

The lie was spilling out before Bella completely grasped what she'd been asked. "My friend Hermione is a history buff and sends me stuff she thinks I'll be interested in."

"But you hate history," Lewis pointed out.

"How do  _you_  know that?"

The girl shrugged. "You complain about it all the time in your YouTube videos."

Lewis watched Bella's YouTube videos. Bella didn't know how to feel about that.

* * *

** LORD POTTER  _to_ REJOIN  _the_ DEPARTMENT  _of_ MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT! **

After what seemed like ages, James Charlus Potter is once again an Auror in  
the British DMLE. Many believed it would be impossible for him to come back  
from the smearing of his reputation, partially due to his own actions of course,  
but the Auror force is low on qualified numbers at present. Lord Potter was  
the one to advocate for changes in Azkaban and has been vocal about these  
issues over the last half year, proving that he may have experienced some form  
of attitude shift while serving time himself. With his training and history he was  
a perfect addition to the forces once more.

Still, there is a bit of concern from many in the populace on whether or not a  
man with a criminal record can be trusted in a position of authority once again.  
Sure he did his time in Azkaban and essentially paid for his crimes with a hefty  
sum of gold, but that doesn't erase what he did to his daughter Belladonna Potter,  
and what he may have done to his other daughter, Prunella Potter. We won't so  
easily forget his misdemeanours, will we? This could send a very poor message  
to other shoddy parents out there that they can neglect their children and face  
next to no social consequences for such actions. Is that really a message we  
want to be sending?

On the flip side, he fought in the last war for almost two decades, against the  
Death Eaters and their Master. He is considered to be a war hero for the good  
he's done for our people. Can he truly go back to that mindset when he chose  
to leave the job behind because he felt his daughter's fame would earn him a  
more pleasant life of easy money?

There's the issue of the fact that while someone may do time for a crime they  
have committed, there is no way to prove they have changed and regret what  
they've done. Sure withholding a job from him would be cruel, but is it safe for  
us that he gains power over the population? He has a noted hatred of Slytherin,  
Dark Magic, and Dark Creatures, just like our Minister Pyrites. Who knows what  
Potter would do all in the name of upholding the law as  _he_  saw fit to.

With many concerns,

_Garrison Bespoke,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

Tom stared at the group of professors and officials gathered before him, wondering what they could possibly want from him. He hadn't been obvious with  _anything_ , so there was no need for an intervention he was certain.

"Mr. Night, we find ourselves with a little problem in regards to your part of the Second Task," said McGonagall. "The Goblet is supposed to choose a person dear to each of the competitors, but as you may have guessed, Belladonna Potter's name came out of the Goblet, and she cannot be the person you rescue as she too is competing."

Tom smiled. "Bella is my best friend. She's very important to me."

And he didn't feel weak for revealing that bit of information. Felt empowered by it actually. And internally he dared anyone to even think harmful thoughts toward his Bella, let alone actually doing something harmful to her. Tom would tear them apart if they tried, and make them regret even being born.

McGonagall and Snape shared a look for a moment. One that was filled with every bit of concern for a teen girl who was friends with a teen boy older than her. They returned their attention to the Goblet seconds later, whatever going on having passed between them.

"Have you anyone you can think of who would be a good replacement?"

Giving Tom this kind of power was not good on their part and he loved it.

"Highmaster Karkaroff," he told the group, enjoying the way Karkaroff stiffened in absolutely terror at the suggestion. "He's been ever so helpful and I admire him very much."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well then. You'll be relieved to know that nothing untoward will happen to the hostages in this scenario. You may return to your own business. Be mindful of the curfews of both Hogwarts and your delegation however."

* * *

"I have returned, my dudes!"

"How'd it go?" asked Hermione the moment she was seated at the library table.

"I won. My score wasn't as high as the one I got for the JGPF, but that doesn't necessarily shock me. Those was a more local thing, than the JGPF. Less attention on it basically. Many skaters don't even know about it and the judges aren't as talented as ones for competitions like the Grand Prix and Worlds or for the Olympics.

"So what's been happening around here lately?"

"People are placing bets ahead of time for the Second Task," said Blaise. "And no offense, but it's obvious Night is going to win so there seems to be no point in betting at all."

Theo shook his head in disagreement. "They can bet the order in which the champions come out. Tom will be first of course, but the remaining four slots are more difficult to predict than many people originally assumed they'd be."

That was true. Bella and Prue weren't all the way at the end. That right there proved that things weren't always what they appeared to be.

"Can the Champions participate in these bets or is that off limits?" Bella asked, already having an idea in mind.

"The Weasley twins are in charge of the pool so you'll have to talk to them about the details."

Awesome.

"Gamboling is not a good habit to take up," chided Hermione from behind a book on Japan's magical history. "What would you guardians think, Bella?"

"Well Aaliyah weekly pays attention to the lottery so I'm not so sure they'd mind if I toss up a few Galleons toward a bet here and there."

That obvious wasn't the answer Hermione was hoping for, and the brunette glowered over the top of her book.

"I'm not going to become an addict, Mione. Gamboling isn't that interesting to me, but when it comes to the tourney, I'm all for trying new things. And also ruining some people's hopes and dreams in the process."

Blaise snickered in response and Theo rolled his eyes. What could she say? She was an arsehole. Not the malicious kind who wanted to hurt people, but the kind who enjoyed ruining minor plans and shite.

"As if you're in desperate need of more gold."

"Not at all. I just like having fun now and then and it's nice to know that I have the ability to if I ever want to." That stability that came with having money was nice. That was technically what a lot of people wanted. Not necessarily the money, but the stability that came with having it whenever it was needed.

"Maybe Fred and George will finally be able to get Bagman to pay them back for not honouring their bet back at the World Cup Final," suggested Blaise, falling into the usual gossip. "They've been trying to make back that money and it was a considerable amount they'd been hoping to put toward their business when they finally graduate."

Perhaps Bella could get Tom to threaten him on the side. That would be good. Tom had this thing about him that made him slightly terrifying for those with enough sense to see it.

* * *

"It's just a little more work. Just a bit more and you'll be all set for the Task!"

Bella groaned as she pulled another stitch tight. Yes, she understood why it was necessary but she didn't want to keep doing it. Her hands were cramping from all the effort she'd been putting into this specific project for days!

From what she and Prue had managed to gather on their own, because Tom was being an arsehole who wasn't going to share whatever his clue for the Second Task was, they'd be exposed to the elements and the Forbidden Forest. As such, Bella was taking an extra step to protect herself. While Prue was more concerned about facing magical creatures in the offensive, Bella was more concerned with defence. Protecting herself from any and all harm for as long as possible.

So for her most recent project in Ancient Runes, Bella had taken her Tournament-granted robes, and decided to improve them. Nothing in the rules said she couldn't either.

Turning them inside out, Bella proceeded to stitch protective Runes all over the fabric. The first layer protected against fire. It was stitched with red thread and the Runes covered the dark fabric everywhere. The second layer was to protect against water. It was stitched with blue thread over the red but with a different set of Runes. The third layer of Runes was stitched with white thread to protect against lightning. The fourth layer was to protect her from excessive changes of temperature, and was sewn with yellow thread. For the fifth layer, she'd added another protection against fire, but this time with Egyptian hieroglyphics, in red thread once again. And last but not least, a collection of Runic circles in purple to ward off mental assaults of any kind. She doubted such attacks would happen, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

She had  _just_  a few stitches left! Just a few more and she would be finished and raring to go!

Then she would have to test her work out immediately to be certain. It would be stupid to waltz into the Dark Forest without even testing her robes out beforehand. That would be like asking for a dragon to set her on fire when she had nothing to protect herself with.

First was to drench it. She was pleased to note that water was not absorbed into the fabric. It merely slid off to form a puddle beneath the robes, and it was glorious! And fire did not burn it either. It seemed to reach an invisible wall a few inches away from the robes. Lightning was redirected away from them. When wearing them, she felt perfectly comfortable, and even when Hermione blasted her with an arse load of wind, she didn't feel cold.

It seemed as if her project had come through with success.

She was proud of herself for making it through the work process! And she was totally gonna get an O+ on the project too! Three months of work had finally paid off.

* * *

The morning of the Second Task dawned too quickly for Prue's liking. It was like she blinked and suddenly they were sat at breakfast, people around her making comments about the Task and what they thought it was going to be, and she could feel a headache coming on. Since she already got a heads up from Alesandese, she wasn't so worried  _now_. Still, she wasn't looking forward to the Task itself. She'd never wanted to go into the Dark Forest before and now she would have to.

Thankfully, Alesandese had agreed to linger around the forest entrance that lead to the Chamber in case Prue needed her help. It was nice to have a powerful creature on her side. Even if Prue ended up not needing her help, it made her feel a lot better just having that assurance.

Prue was already wearing the robes required for the tourney, and the pin from Mahoutokoro pinned in place as well. Her hair was pulled into a topknot that she wrapped into a bun and pinned in place so nothing could move even a millimeter during the Task. There would be nothing to distract her during this. She was going in and coming out as soon as possible, and with as little effort used as possible.

The rules didn't say that she  _had_  to participate in the Tasks. She could simply sit back and get no scores, but after the whole Mahoutokoro letter and being told to at least do her best, she'd decided to actually try. And after coming third in the First Task, directly in the center of the Champions, she'd realised that she could actually do well. And not coming in last would give her a better reputation as well. The Daily Prophet was still raving about how amazing it was that Bell and Prue had done so well. In the end, this could be beneficial in its own way, even if she didn't win.

"Take a bit of toast, mate." Ron shoved an entire plate of toast into her face. He still didn't grasp that most people didn't eat as much as he did. The offer was appreciated though, even if she wasn't planning on eating much of anything at all.

"I'd rather just some fruit today. Bread's too heavy right now and I'm not feeling the best."

The look of offense on his face got a fond smile from her. His heart was in the right place.

Across the Hall, she could see Bella joining her friends, also dressed in her sanctioned robes. Bella's were the colours for Ilvermorny, to show she was representing them. Her hair was pulled into a topknot as well, but had been set into a long plait that hung to her hips. She looked energetic and excited to an extent. Like she was prepared for anything. Prue wondered what she'd done to prepare for the Task.

Night joined her group a moment later, bedecked in his own school-themed robes. He looked ridiculously good in them too. She could see Bella appreciating him and he appreciating her. Prue wondered if they'd finally gotten to understanding just what they felt for each other yet.

Probably not. Bella was a bit thick when it came to her own romantic life. And Night was inexperienced in the worst of ways. So neither would really know what to do about their feelings. If Bella even  _noticed_  she had feelings yet.

"You think you're ready for the Task?" asked George from Prue's left where he always sat. She liked to sit between the twins always because they were like buffers. Bookends. Protectors in a way. Bothering Prue would mean incurring their wrath and getting on a prankster's bad side was not a smart move.

She shrugged. "I doubt they'd let any of us die so I'm not that worried. I just don't want to do extraneous work when I didn't even sign up for it. Quidditch is one thing. I'm willing involved in that and understand the consequences involved should something unfortunate happen to me or someone else. This is another thing entirely."

And the possibility of at least being gravely injured before being saved, was very high. Something could eat one of her limbs if what the Basilisk had told her was the truth! And that didn't sound pleasant!

"We're cheering you on. I mean, we didn't bet on you winning, but we  _did_  bet on you not being last."

"Thanks, mate. Warms my heart."

* * *

When they reached the edge of the Dark Forest, they were able to see the details better. There were five, large glass tubes holding five unconscious people. If Bella had to guess, she would say the Draught of Living Death had been used on them, and then a stasis spell to keep them frozen and without the need for air.

Wrapped around each tube was a ribbon of a different colour that stretched out and lead into the denseness of the Forbidden Forest and disappeared in the darkness.

There were stands erected around the edge of the Forest, and three enormous Two-Way Mirrors floated above them, no doubt connected to some already inside the Forest. The audience had already gathered and cheered them on the moment they came near, the excitement palpable. Banners flying and Weasley-made fireworks being let loose as the twins walked through the crowd to sell their wares.

Bagman and Crouch were waiting, both with different levels of excitement. Meaning Bagman was giddy and Crouch was surly. But ever since the whole thing with his son invading Hogwarts and stuff, he'd been on the receiving end of a lot of anger. Many believed he had something to do with his son's escape from Azkaban since he had visited once in secret many years back, and an Auror revealed that information to Rita, who kept his name anonymous for personal safety reasons.

Basically Crouch wasn't having a good time as of late as Rita ran him through the mud.

A  **Sonorus**  was cast on Bagman so he could explain the objective to them and the crowd at the same time.

"Before you are your hostages. If you look closely you can see which one is yours. They were chosen depending on how much they mean to you," he told them.

Bella took another look at the tubes. Cho Chang for Diggory. Molly Weasley for Prue. A little girl that Bella had heard was Fleur's sister. Karkaroff for Tom, which made her snort quietly. As if  _he_  meant anything to Tom. And lastly… Aaliyah.

"Now they aren't in any danger, but your objective is mainly to free them. To do so, you will follow the ribbon wrapped around your hostage's tube, into the Forest. At the very end of it is a key you need, but it isn't the only key. There are three other keys you must locate and retrieve in order to open the tube. The ribbon key is the last one and only the key of  _your_  ribbon will finish unlocking your hostage's tube."

That sounded simple enough.

"The locations of the keys are guarded by many magical creatures of varying levels of danger. We won't tell you which ones because we'd like to keep it interesting. There is no rule against Champions interfering with the others by… misplacing the keys entirely so long as they remain in the area and are still accessible. So it's prudent for you to be the first to retrieve your keys if you don't want the additional work. The remaining keys that have to be gathered are all the same."

Okay, now it was a lot harder than before.

"You will have two hours. If you make it back in an hour, you get full marks. If it's between an hour and an hour and a half, you'll get forty points. Between 1 ½ hours and 2, you'll get thirty points. Past two hours a point will be deducted from the thirty every five minutes. If you finish in under an hour, you'll get an extra ten points. It's prudent to be quick on your feet."

Shite. Who the hell was the one to dream this stuff up because Bella would very much like to cuff them upside the head. Knee them in the bullocks whether they had bullocks or not. Spit in their mash. Set their hair aflame and cackle maniacally as they screamed in terror and tried to put it out.

"The Task will start in two minutes. Please make certain you are prepared. Know that we will be watching and waiting for you to return."

* * *

The moment the bell sounded, Tom unveiled his recently mastered skill. One that had taken him a year of training to finish, but he was proud of it. Condensing his magic into a tight ball, Tom forced his body to become like a vapour with a barely perceivable black tint. He shot off into the Forest at a speed too fast for those watching to notice.

Yes, he'd mastered unsupported flight at age seventeen. Voldemort could go weep in a grave.

Tom wasn't worried about the Task because he had complete faith in his abilities to see it through without struggle.

* * *

Bella shook her head at Tom's dramatics and bent forward to get into a starting position. She had her robes on. The wand holster was in place. Her hair was done up to stay out of the way.

Just as she was pushing off into a run, she heard Prue summon her Lightningbolt. They couldn't bring anything like that  _with_  them to start, but no rules said those types of items couldn't be summoned. She was proud of Prue's thinking.

Bella would have totally brought her scooter if she thought it would actually be useful among the roots in the forest. With running she could simply jump over roots. With a bike or a scooter, she'd basically be trapped and have to carry the thing the whole time. Which would waste time and tire her out.

The ribbon for Aaliyah was Slytherin green and it seemed to glow the further into the forest she went. The further in she got, the less of the sky she could see as the trees seemed to crowd around her, blocking out any light from above. It was all very ominous and the air felt more dense and a bit harder to breathe.

With good pacing, Bella made her way into the clearing where the first key was supposed to be. High above the clearing was a massive Two-Way mirror showing the crowds back in the beginning. The other ribbons all converged in the same area near the forest floor, twisting around each other and the surrounding trees. In the center was a massive stone that had five hand-sized holes drilled into the side of it. Atop the stone, was a Sphinx.

She'd obviously never seen one in person before, and was a little stunned by its appearance. The body of a larger-than-normal lion of darker fur, but with the head of a beautiful woman bedecked in what looked like gold jewelry. Was it considered bestiality to be attracted to the face of a Sphinx?

The Sphinx inclined its head and as expected, a riddle was posed in a smooth, but raspy tone. "Marking mortal privation, when firmly in place. An enduring summation, inscribed in my face. What am I?"

"A tombstone." The word 'inscribed' kind of gave it away since rarely was that word used for anything else.

"You make take your key and continue on," said the Sphinx imperiously.

When Bella stepped forward, she found the holes in the stone empty. She sighed. "Let me guess, Tom got here already and moved them?"

"Indeed."

He couldn't have moved them far. The rules said the keys could be moved, but still had to be in the area. Meaning the rest were still in the clearing somewhere. And of course Tom wouldn't make this easy on her, even if they were friends. He would use whatever advantage he had on the other competitors. But such an advantage was one they both shared. And thank goodness she'd decided to start learning Parselmagic and casting in Parseltongue!

Holding up her wand, she hissed, § ** _Revelio._** § There was a small ripple around her, and the spell Tom had used, in Parseltongue no less, to disguise the keys in the holes, fell away.

They all looked exactly the same, so there was no need to choose a specific one. Too bad she couldn't take them all with her.

Once her own key was retrieved, Bella took the remaining three keys and buried them under a section of grass she'd pulled up. She then stomped on the area a few times to make everything seem normal and even.

Waving to the Sphinx, she continued on her way to the next key. Everything was going pretty easily.

* * *

The moment Bella was out of the clearing, Prue floated down on her broom, having seen where her twin placed the other keys. All she had to do was answer a riddle, get her own key, and then hide the other two to ruin Diggory and Delacour's chances of continuing on in the Task.

Thing was, if all the keys were the same save the ribbon ones, then the other two could still take someone else's keys if they didn't get their own. The rules never said that wasn't allowed.

She was a bit intimidated by the magical creature that was said to be as intelligent as anything classified as a 'being'. She didn't really understand why Sphinxes  _weren't_  considered beings, bit whatever. The Ministry was full of idiots, which wasn't anything new.

The Sphinx looked down her long, perfectly-shaped nose at Prue and posed the riddle Prue was dreading. "What is the next 3 letters in this riddle? O-T-T-F-F-S-S-_-_-_?"

She frowned. "How many letters is that?" O-T-T-F-F-S-S was seven and three more made ten. So eight, nine, and ten were blank letters… wait. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. OTTFFSSENT!

"E-N-T! You were using the first letters when writing the numbers 1-10!"

Maybe she  _had_  hope for Ravenclaw after all.

Prue quickly retrieved her own key and looked around for a good place to put the remaining two. She got an idea quickly and thanked Morgana's saggy knickers that Fred and George taught her how to climb the trees in their family's orchard.

The keys were hung from a high branch in a nearby tree and left there.

Feeling proud of herself, Prue mounted her broom once more and followed her ribbon deeper into the forest. Things were going pretty well at the moment. She'd been worried that it would be too hard for a fourteen year old to accomplish, but she was doing better than the seventeen year olds - sans Night of course - and that was great!

* * *

The crowd winced in unison as Bella came into view on the center mirror. The creature involved in this part of the Task was a Chinese Fireball. While still chained down so it couldn't physically go very far, it was still capable of turning in a full circle and breathing fire at the Champions. Tomas Night had already faced the creature, erecting a powerful barrier around himself as he retrieved his key.

Everything didn't catch fire despite the flames filling the area. Advanced charmwork had been at play, and Hermione was already taking notes to ask Night about later on when there was free time. He always had such insightful things to say and the way his mind worked was impressive. There was no surprise over why Bella was smitten with him.

Now that it was Bella's turn, she was a bit nervous considering she'd been there for Bella's planning for the Task. Sure it had seemed to be a bit overboard, but safety was very important. And she could reuse the competitive robes some other time if necessary.

Bella didn't even stop, hide behind a tree, or throw up a spell the moment the dragon laid its slitted eyes on her. She kept on running in its direction, head turning from side to side to find where the keys were being kept.

The great head of the dragon drew back, and its belly began to glow orange, the light traveling up its neck and out its mouth. And Bella... didn't even blink.

It was the most stone cold thing Hermione had ever seen. Bella was literally running through the fire, a small bubble of space surrounding her from where the fire parted ways due to the Runework she'd put in. It was an impressive thing to watch as she completely ignored the dragon altogether, grabbed her own key, and hurried along to the final portion of the Task, following her ribbon into the darkness and disappearing once again.

The crowd was stunned, their murmurings turning appreciative as they watched Bella continue on in her personal quest.

All she had left were the Acromantula now. It was all coming down to the wire. And judging by the last Mirror, Tom had already gathered his last key and was heading back to the start. Obviously he was the victor. No one was shocked, but they were all indeed impressed by his talents.

Hermione had so many questions!

* * *

Tom was beaming, which was probably the most obvious emotion he'd ever shown. He was unable to help himself. He'd finished in under an hour, gaining the extra points for himself and getting a chance to sit back and watch the rest of the competition after Karkaroff was released from his watery prison. He'd watched as Bella expertly handled herself against the Acromantula and then made her way back to the beginning of the Task.

And while she was retracing her steps, he was able to take notes on how Prunella did. Her approach was very different than Bella's. She fought outright, unlike resorting to defence to save her arse. But Prue also waited. She reached the second section of the Task before Diggory or Delacour had, but she'd waited, hiding up among the trees above them and allowed them to handle the dragon for her.

The two temporarily joined forces in fighting the dragon and knocking it out for as long as possible. It took them several minutes and many powerful spells between them to even get it down. Once it was certain the dragon wouldn't attack them, they turned their wands on each other. And that was when Prunella struck from above, knocking them both unconscious at the same time with ease. She proceeded to float down on her Lightningbolt and pickpocket the two, withdrawing their own keys with a grin. Save for her ribbon, she had gotten all the keys she needed, and made it even more difficult for the other two to pass the Task.

And as she was flying on her way to get her last key, she and Bella passed one another, sharing a grin of interest.

Bella returned ten past the hour mark, sweating profusely and breathing heavily, but she was finished. She had done well for herself, and freed her guardian immediately, needing help to extract the woman from the large tube. Aaliyah Michaels was a very large woman and she was much too big for Bella to handle. And because he was generous, at least where Bella was concerned, Tom was there to lend a helping hand.

The woman was administered the antidote to the potion she'd been given, and was revived immediately. "Last time I agree to something like this, kiddo," she said, teeth chattering as she moved to rub warmth into her soaked arms.

Tom cast a charm over her head to dry her off, and then a warming charm for good measure, earning himself a grateful look.

In the end, Prunella returned under the two hour mark and freed Molly Weasley who immediately patted her down once she was awake again. The woman, drenched and shivering, was busy asking the young girl dozens of questions about how she was feeling and if she'd gotten hurt at all. And Prunella stood there, looking immensely pleased that someone gave a damn about her well being. Most teens would be annoyed by the coddling behaviour of a mother figure, but Prunella seemed to thrive under it as she watched the red-haired woman with near worshipful eyes. Though consider who her birth mother was, it wasn't shocking that she wanted the positive attention at all.

Diggory and Delacour came in last obviously, Delacour just a few minutes before Diggory, thereby earning more points than him. Both were muddied and bloodied from trying to trip each other to reach the end first. They didn't look pleased.

Tom was declared the winner, obviously, and the Task ended with the smattering of applause from the crowd.

They made their way back up to the castle, Bella leading her guardian carefully since the woman could not necessarily see where they were going since she was a muggle and the charm on Hogwarts affected her.

"I'll meet you at dinner," said Bella with a wave to Tom and her friends. "I'm making sure Aaliyah gets back to Debs in one piece. Save me a big plate of food, I don't care what's on it."

Tom and Hermione both nodded and then shared a look, silently determining which one should be the one to save the food for Bella. Eventually, they silently agreed that Tom would do it. He just wanted Bella to have a good, healthy meal. That was all. Nothing special about it.

* * *

Lily stared at the newspaper. She'd been avoiding it for some time, not caring about what was happening in recent months because she had more personal issues to tend to. But it was on the kitchen table that morning and she found herself staring down at a photo containing her offspring.

Both were Champions in the TriWizard Tournament and were standing on either side of an attractive young man. Behind each girl was another person, making five standing in a V formation. The young man in the center was named Tomas Night. He was the Durmstrang Champion and was currently in First Place in the Tournament. He was followed by Belladonna at Second Place for Ilvermorny, and then Prunella in Third for Mahoutokoro.

Two fourteen year olds had entered the dangerous tourney somehow and were doing well enough to be in the top three! Prue was good at nothing. How the hell had she managed to make it in such a dangerous game? Was someone cheating for her? She was practically useless at everything. It was probably Belladonna. She'd had good grades since starting at Hogwarts and even if the girls didn't get on - Lily wouldn't really know since she hadn't seen them in some time - she doubted the girl was so callous as to let her little sister get hurt in the Tournament.

But this was the proof! Lily's children were greedy brats! Why else would they need to enter the tourney? They wanted the fame and the fortune that came with it. They weren't happy enough with what they had at their disposal so they wanted to take opportunities from others to reach greatness!

Having children had to be the worst decision she'd ever made. James had been insistent that at least one was a requirement in order to further the Potter line. Lily hadn't really wanted children right after school, so they'd waited until they could no longer avoid it. And look at what happened. They got an extra they hadn't even planned for and both were terrible.

They picked up James' greedy habits! Even Belladonna who hadn't grown up with her sister managed to be a greedy little brat.

Whatever happened, Lily's newest child wouldn't see the light of day until they went to school. That would give Lily the chance to keep them in line and ensure they behaved.

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the magical and muggle sides start overlapping and shit hits the fans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -It's so hard to get the brain working when you're sick. I've had limited access  
> to writing and reading materials because I've had fevers over 103 and you're  
> not allowed to read by that point for fear of brain damage or blindness. And I  
> can't seem to get my head working in general in terms of plotting or editing.  
> It's been 3 weeks and I've only seemed to drop the fever.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

** TOURNAMENT WOES!  **

This reporter does find it amusing how the Potter twins have managed to keep their  
positions of Second and Third in the TriWizard Tournament even though they did not  
willingly enter themselves, and are at least two years younger that the next youngest  
competitor. With the results of the Second Task in, Belladonna maintains her place in  
Second and Prunella retains Third.

Though some obviously wonder if they are truly talented, or if they are just very lucky.  
But if we're using only what we've seen from them in both the First and Second Tasks,  
I would say they're truly talented and prepared for whatever was ahead of them.

Neither girl won every duel they had in the First Task, yet still demonstrated admirable  
dueling abilities. And they both showed different approaches to the Second Task, with  
Belladonna focusing more on the defensive aspect with advanced Runeworking to keep  
herself safe, and Prunella using the Bait and Bleed battle tactic to get her opponents  
to clear a path of little resistance for her.

These are advanced ways of handling a situation they might not be magically powerful  
enough to force their way through. Belladonna walked into danger with full faith in her  
own abilities to keep her safe. And Prunella thought like a seasoned Auror in order to  
acquire her key in the end. Meanwhile, the two eldest competitors have shown nothing  
but poor skills and unimpressive turnout in the end, losing many people their bets in  
the process.

As always, Tomas Night remains at the very top with the highest marks and endless  
amounts of talent. All the while, he has been nothing but humble about his position  
in the tournament and is supportive of his fellow Champions.

This isn't exactly what we were all hoping for during this tournament, and sometimes  
I wonder what we would be getting if the Potter twins weren't involved at all? Would  
we be even more disappointed than we are now? Would Diggory and Delacour put in  
more effort than they have so far?

Who among us can really say?

Endlessly disappointed but no longer surprised,

_Garrison Bespoke._  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

**Il mio cucciolo,**

**I had the most unnerving experience this past weekend out in Paris. I had gone**  
**to inspect some of the newest fashions the top designers have been planning to**  
**to unveil, when I physically bumped into none other than Bellatrix Lestrange of**  
**all people. She was looking no better than the last time I had seen her, but she**  
**was there, stood among the people as if she belonged and no one even blinked.**

**Of course escaping her was impossible without causing a scene, so we found a**  
**nice space in a local cafe, where we took tea and biscuits. I had to listen to her**  
**mad ravings about the Dark Lord's supposed 'greatness' and 'mercy'. Of course**  
**she wasted no attempt in trying to sway me to their side, which did not work so**  
**don't panic. She then made some vague threats toward my and your well being**  
**if I did not fall in line. I cursed her hands to the table and left with haste before**  
**she could immediately follow.**

**I am not so confident that I have fully escaped her notice. She has always been**  
**a talented tracker and even after spending so much time in Azkaban, she retains**  
**a certain level of cognizance one would not expect after prolonged exposure to**  
**Dementors. I must insist that you remain at Hogwarts during the Easter hols, so**  
**I may have some peace of mind. The wards on our manor aren't as powerful as**  
**those of Hogwarts and while I am confident in them, I do not want to risk you.**  
**Pass along the message to Theodore as well.**

**I've been changing locations every few days just to be safe. Once I am certain**  
**she no longer has any leads on me, I will return to the manor and alert you of**  
**the changes.**

**With all my love,**  
**Mum.**

* * *

"Isn't this about defending ourselves, what do potions have to do with it?" Prue had to ask that afternoon when they all gathered for some more training under Night's guidance like their schedules demanded of them.

Bella was smirking at her though. "You just hate potions because of B-Man."

"Not true," insisted Prue. "I hated it  _way_  before he came into my life because of Lily. And Snape and I have reached a sort of accord. We don't hate each other anymore and that's fine with me. Anyway, Potions is too close to cooking and I don't like cooking all that much."

Ron shook his head, a perplexed look on his red face. "Nuh-uh, you help mum in the kitchen all the time. You're always the first to volunteer to help her too."

"I help Mrs. Weasley out because I don't want her to get stuck doing everything all by herself and I feel bad if I don't help in some way. That doesn't mean I  _like_  cooking. I'm just being a decent person."

Night cleared his throat to recapture their attention. "To answer your question, Prunella, I think it would be prudent for you to learn about some of the most dangerous potions you'll ever hear about just in case. Anything can happen in the next year alone, especially with Voldemort trying to regain power and the Ministry ignoring various signs of his impending return. Things you won't learn until your sixth or seventh years could be useful to you now. Also, who knows what the last Task will shove our way? Even I don't know."

In the center of the room that Night had the RoR create for them, was a long table. On it were small vials and bottles filled with potions. He had dozens of them. It was obvious by how many of each, that he planned for them to each have a bit.

"The first potion is the strongest Truth Serum in the world, known as Veritaserum. Not often used in court hearings unfortunately because adults can avoid the potion if they are prepared for it, are mentally stronger than it, or employ use of Occlumency. Children seventeen and under typically don't have any way to fight the influence of the potion which is why it can be administered to them with parental consent, and why proof gained from that type of questioning is used. Bella has already experienced this potion before and will not join you in testing it. Those who wish to test it so they may know what to expect, will step forward. I will place a single drop on your tongue and ask you your name, age, and occupation only. The antidote will be administered right after to preserve your privacy. No one will interject with questions of their own, or else."

Immediately Hermione stepped forward, her notebook ready to go. Her eyes looked hungry for new knowledge. Even though it was technically illegal for him to be giving it to them without alerting their parents, he'd already broken quite a few laws to prepare them and stopping now because of one moral dilemma over the other would be foolish.

Besides, they'd come to understand that most laws were kind of stupid anyway. And half the laws currently in effect weren't all that moral either. Just because something was legal didn't make it morally right.

Night held up a small dropper full of clear liquid. "It is colourless, odourless, and flavourless. Can very easily be mistaken for water. You will feel a forced calm come over you and will enter a sort of trance where you will want to answer the questions asked of you. A potion like this works best on the unsuspecting because they don't have the time to prepare themselves. Whatever you do, I want you to try and avoid the effects of the potion for as long as possible."

Hermione was given a single droplet as promised, and her entire body went disturbingly still.

"What is your name?" Night asked clearly.

It took a few seconds, but Hermione eventually answered in a dull monotone, "Hermione Jean Dagworth-Granger." Oh yeah, she was technically a Halfblood after getting herself tested at Gringotts. Prue had forgotten about that.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What is your occupation?"

"...Hogwarts student."

Night guided her head back and administered the antidote, returning the teen to her former self. She blinked several times and shook her head. "That was strangely pleasant, and yet it being forced on me was unpleasant. Odd."

"Anyone else wish to try?" Night asked the rest of the group.

Eventually they all went through it, just to be sure. Prue did not like it at all.

Next they moved on to a single vial of liquid that had a mother-of-pearl sheen to it. Night uncorked the top and a pale white wisp of steam seemed to rise out of the bottle and curl through the air tantalisingly.

"This is Amortentia. None of you will be taking it, but I figured you should at least know about it in case it's necessary. This is the strongest love potion in the world, but it should be noted that nothing can fabricate true love. This forms obsession. Specifically the kind the creator is aiming for. Most people use it to make a certain person adore them beyond all measure and wish to please them however possible. This is often used in illegal practices such as sexual assault, Line Theft, and first degree murder. I don't condone this potion or any like it. Do any of you know its most distinguishing characteristic?"

Hermione raised her hand instantly. "It smells different to each person because it uses whatever attracts them most to lure them in."

"Exactly. I want you to each come and take a long whiff and tell me what you smell."

Hermione was up front again. "Freshly mown grass, new parchment, and…" her face twisted up a bit. "Leather?" She looked baffled.

Bella was up next. Her own face twisted. "I swear I've smelled this combination before. Old books and parchment. And sandalwood?"

Ron's was, "Food and broomstick polish."

Zabini's ended up being, "Blood and chocolate."

Nott frowned when he came away with, "Flora, fruits, and rain."

The scents that attracted Prue were, "A new Quaffle, bread, and dirigible plums?" She only knew what those were because of… Luna.

Luna was up right after her, excitedly proclaiming her own scents. "Paint, storms, and broomstick polish."

Finally, Longbottom finished off their little try out with, "Dirt, sunshine, and food."

Night nodded and corked the potion once again. "If any are curious, mine are parchment, freshly fallen snow, and chocolate.

"Now, the scents cannot be masked even when mixing this with other potions or drinks."

Hermione's hand shot up instantly. "It can actually be mixed with  _other_  things and not lose potency?"

Night shook his head. "It's very much like oil and will retain its own form even when poured into something else. Trying to mix it won't do you any good either. Many choose adding this potion to special beverages because the colour is easily lost among the ice or foam and people usually drink without checking if everything is okay to consume."

Bella raised her hand slowly. "And can it be mixed with  _any_  other potion? Like some medicines can't be mixed because they'll have bad side effects with ingredients clashing. Will this do that?"

"Not with  _any_  potion, but a considerable amount would work with it. At least those of a similar consistency that won't break apart if swirled around a bit too much or shaken up. Like putting oil and water together. They'd never truly mix so they won't necessarily contaminate the effects of each potion, and taking both at the same time won't cause an undue effects. At the top of the recipe would be a descriptor of the types of potions a potion can be taken with. So long as you know the type, you won't hurt yourself."

"Okay…"

Night moved on to the next section of the table that held a collection of vials. "This is Polyjuice Potion. You've no doubt heard about it after the Moody-Crouch issue. Each vial contains enough potion for half an hour of use. You will each take a piece of hair from someone and add it to the potion. You will then drink it down as quickly as you can, and you will change into whoever you used to finish the potion."

Luna offered a long strand of pale blonde hair to Prue instantly, a sweet smile on her face. Prue bent her head down a bit to offer her own hair, which lost a single strand of its own instantly.

Nott and and Zabini both took Longbottom's hair. Hermione took a piece of Bella's hair, while Longbottom took a piece of Ron's hair, and Ron took a piece of Zabini's. That left Bella, who was staring at Night very openly.

A flush began to spread across Night's perfect cheekbones. "Dear Bella, I feel I should remind you that I have body parts you don't have and you will grow them, even if it's only for half an hour. You will experience what it is like to have those body parts. Do you really wish to use my hair for this?"

"How bad can it be?"

Eventually, Night gave up a piece of his hair and watched in barely concealed horror as it was added to Bella's potion and then consumed on the spot, prompting the rest of them to take their potions too.

It should be noted that Polyjuice was disgusting and made Prue dry heave a few times. Was it really worth that if it nearly made someone vomit when they took it? If you vomit up the potion, then you just wasted resources and time. That needed to be fixed at some point in the future.

When she was upright once more, she found herself to be lower to the ground and her clothes to be much more loose on her. A look to her right showed her own face beaming back at her with an expression she was certain had never been on her features before. "You look great!" said Luna's clear voice as it came out of the Prue look-alike.

"The potion does not change your voice," Night noted a very seconds later. "It shows the dedication that Crouch put in when he was impersonating Moody."

A look around showed everyone had changed into the person they'd chosen. And among them stood another Tomas Night who was feeling his own face up weirdly. Long, attractive fingers caressing his own lips and cheekbones, a look of deep concentration on his face.

Bella was getting a little too intimate with Night's body, and the flush on the real one's face spoke volumes. "Bella, please control yourself."

All at once, the trance Bella seemed to be in, vanished and she flushed and looked down, showing what a bashful Night would look like. "I-I probably should have listened to your advice, because I'm feeling a lot of things and I kinda wanna touch myself a bit too much." Hearing Bella's voice coming out of Night's mouth was hysterical in a sense. But the words she'd been saying were a little… suggestive. Though she probably didn't realise it.

When she noticed everyone staring at her in shock, Bella hastened to explain, "I think of certain things when I see attractive people, but would never walk up and do them because it's rude. And for a second I was like, I'm in Tom's body, I can do them now, and then I felt bad because it would feel wrong and like I'm taking advantage in a sense, which turned a really neat situation into a very creepy one."

Her fingers were hooked very clearly in the belt loops of her now too small trousers, that had stretched out as much as they could to fit Night's body. She looked awkward and was using Night's face to do it, which was kind of laughable.

"I wouldn't feel violated over your curiosity, dear Bella," Night assured her with a pitying smile, "but I am grateful for your respect of my personal space."

She gave him a thumbs up. "Can we move on to the other potions now?"

Eventually they did, and Bella remained awkwardly silent until she changed back to her normal self half an hour later.

Finally on their last, Night revealed the best he'd gotten. And Prue had no idea how he got a hold of so much of it but she was impressed.

"Felix Felicis," said Night, gesturing to several very small vials. "Liquid Luck. Enough for an hour's worth for each of you. Now while it doesn't force things to happen, it does give you impressions of what would be the best decision to make, and lifts your spirits. However it is disastrous if brewed incorrectly and poisonous if taken in mass quantities. While it makes you feel happy and confident, too much will make you overly confident and optimistic, and will lower inhibitions and the ability to say no to anything. Discernment will be heavily impaired and carelessness is intensified. If too much is taken on a regular basis, the body won't be able to handle not having it in its system. You may keep those and use them whenever you wish, though I would  _hope_  you would dare use them in any graded events of any sort."

None of them would ever sink so low to do something like that. If you have to cheat, you're obviously not good enough at whatever you were cheating at in the first place.

* * *

** BARTY CROUCH JR. SIGHTED  _in_  BUDLEY BABBERTON!  **

In the middle of the night, Aurors were alerted by multiple people in the area of  
Budley Babberton that they had spotted the known Death Eater loitering around  
the square of the village. Three alarms came from Magical families living among  
the mostly muggle village, but a muggle on the other side of the village did call  
in to the local muggle law enforcement with details on Crouch's whereabouts.

Upon arrival, the Aurors were too late to find Crouch himself, but they did find a  
Portkey he had used and traced its coordinates to Godric's Hollow. From there,  
they created their own emergency Portkey and only just missed the criminal by  
seconds again.

I find it concerning that a citizen, even one who is a Death Eater, knows how to  
create illegal Portkeys without an issue. Only certain Ministry personnel should  
know how to do that. Makes me curious to know how many Death Eaters who  
claimed they only did He Who Must Not Be Named's bidding under the influence  
of the Unforgivables, were spreading Ministry secrets around to their friends?  
And why were these same people simply allowed to return to their jobs without  
being screened?

They were accepted back into their posts quite quickly if my memory is sharp  
still. Minister Fudge was also revealed to be taking bribes from the very same  
people who escaped the public backlash of being Death Eaters. And yet those  
people who all fall under the same brolly Minister Pyrites' disagrees with, are  
still employed at the Ministry even now. Does our new Minister truly despise  
these types of people? Or perhaps he too is being paid off by them and won't  
exert the effort necessary to determine if they can be trusted, because he is  
too interested in their gold.

This all screams of collusion to this reporter.

What thoughts have any of you? Let us know! We've been dying to hear any  
new theories!

_Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

"So the real Moody is coming back to take up teaching today?"

Neville, who had been through an emotional upheaval over the revelation of who had formerly been teaching them, seemed to sag just a bit. Moody had unnerved him all term and then to find out that one of the people who had tortured his parents into insanity, had been pretending to be Moody all along, had left him horrified.

He'd shown them the Unforgivable Curses. Had put all of them under one in particular. He'd been living among them for months, his stolen eye taking in all kinds of details no doubt. Who knew what information he'd managed to gather in his time?

Theo was at his side, patting his shoulder consolingly. "Everything's going to be better now. You don't have to worry about him getting anywhere near you." He then looked toward Tomas Night and asked, "Right?"

Night gave them a tight smile. " _You'll_  never have to worry about Barty Crouch Jr. ever again, Mr. Longbottom."

"There, see?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah." It did make him feel a  _little_  better in the end.

* * *

The room was dim, the hearth having been left to its own devices in the light of recent events. He was cold whether the fire was lit or not, so he didn't bother to light it at all.

Things weren't going as they were supposed to. First one of his Horcruxes had managed to obtain a body of its own and was doing as it wanted without anyone to keep it under control. Then Barty disappeared to who knows where and no one, not even Dumbledore's people, could find him. Finally, all of his Death Eaters that had been trapped in Azkaban, were dead.

Several setbacks. His mole at Hogwarts was gone. His Horcrux was causing mischief. His followers would lose moral when he tried to recruit them once again. Two thirds of their number being dead would shake the foundations of their side entirely.

Nagini was resting against his thin body, providing the warmth he hadn't personally been able to create in ages. She thought he was being far too obsessive over everything, but how else was he to rise to power and conquer the Wizarding World when so many obstacles stood in his way?

Bellatrix and Wormtail had been in Azkaban for over a decade, compared to Barty whose own father had sneaked him out after only a few months, replacing him with his deathly ill mother. Barty may have been under the Imperius the entire time, but that was nothing compared to exposure of the Dementors every day for over a decade.

Bellatrix couldn't Polyjuice into someone successfully. She was still too twitchy. Too mad. Too loud. She was too energetic. She couldn't mimic another's voice and pitch. And Wormtail was certainly no better than her as he was the most useless follower Voldemort ever had. The best he could do was be a rat and his old friend Black could scent him out in dog form, plus they had their hands on other methods of finding people. So what use could Wormtail be in this instance?

He didn't know what to do.

Rarely did he ever get to a point where he genuinely didn't know what to do. The plan to capture Belladonna Potter had been damn near ruined. He didn't know how they'd manage to get her away from the school now.

Even with her mad schedule to continue going to the Muggle world on the daily, she always did so through her godfather's Floo. There was no way to intercept that. Especially since where she lived on the non-magical side was under heavy protection that even he and Bellatrix couldn't penetrate.

How was he to get what he needed?

"My Lord!"

The door to the room burst open to reveal Bellatrix levitating a body inside the room. When it was dropped unceremoniously at the foot of his chair, Voldemort could just make out the distinct mustache and facial structure of Barty Crouch Sr..

"I found him drunk in Diagon Alley, my Lord," said Bellatrix breathlessly as she knelt before him. "I thought you might have good use for him."

And all at once, ideas began to form in his mind. He had one of the officials of the TriWizard Tournament right before him. This could be very useful indeed.

"Well done, my faithful."

* * *

" **Expecto Patronum!** "

A silvery mist shot forth, forming a bright, silvery dome shape in front of Bella. Tom had said only the best control and the most powerful magic would manage to create a corporeal Patronus, Bella was still banking on a Godzilla or a T-Rex. Maybe a Pokemon. She'd never watched the show or played any of the games, but some of the creatures were cute and she'd love to have one of them too.

Hermione and Prue were about as far along as Bella. The rest of their friends were barely getting light from the tips of their wands.

There had been a time in the beginning of this training, where Theo and Blaise had been a bit skeptical over performing the charm because evil people supposedly 'couldn't' perform it at all.

And of course Bella had to say something because she wouldn't sit back while her friends were experiencing emotional distress. "Being Dark Wizards doesn't make you evil. And FYI, evil people are never worried about whether they're evil, so worrying about if you're turning evil, already makes it obvious you aren't. And furthermore, Tom said that the whole spiel about 'goodness and kindness in memory to fuel the spell' was a load of rubbish. You just need to be happy. Not even a memory, just something that makes you so happy you could die in bliss. Chill and get to steppin'."

Tom insisted that whatever she was using to power her own happiness wasn't good enough. And Bella was using the idea of her winning gold at the Olympics. It was what she wanted more than anything else at present. She wanted to be invited to compete and she wanted a gold medal! Any figure skater would want the same thing. Why dedicate their whole lives to a sport if they didn't want to participate int he most important event that sport had to offer?

Still, she was at a loss as to what could be a more powerful motivator for her own spellwork. After getting adopted she'd had a pretty good life, but none of her memories stood out that well. And if a happy thought about her possible future wasn't working, then what would?

Hermione was using the thought of graduating with all Os, but Tom said that also wasn't enough. She was already the top witch in their year and would most likely graduate with perfect grades anyway, so it wouldn't come as a surprise to her as much as she'd like to believe it would.

Then again they were only teenagers and hadn't experienced much of life yet. It wasn't as if they were inundated with experiences to choose from. Not like a much older Magical would be.

It did not escape Bella's notice that Tom didn't try to cast the spell at all. He merely spoke about the spell, adjusted their stances if he found something off in the way they worked, and encouraged them to keep trying their best.

Perhaps he should be joining in as well? Bella could be very  _persuasive_  if she wanted to be.

* * *

**Mione,**

**I HAVE ANOTHER LITTER TO TRAIN NOW! I'm so excited about it. The**  
**kittens are growing at the common expectancy of their species and no**  
**diseases or illnesses are possible, so don't worry.**

**Can you tell Bella to bring over Aoife when she comes over for the hols**  
**in April? I want to give her a checkup to see how she's doing. I decided**  
**to keep one of her litter from early last year and I want to see how well**  
**she remembers them. Specifically if a Kneazle will want to breed with its**  
**own kin or not. There's nothing that says they will, but they are animals**  
**and you never know. I don't want to walk in one day and find the tom's**  
**impregnated her on accident. Bella would not be happy about that. It's**  
**not a part of the plan.**

**How are things going in the Death Eater infested school? Bella planning**  
**anyone's murder yet? I know she's not walking away without a plan in**  
**mind. She is too devious for that. And when she feels threatened, she'll**  
**usually deal with the threat immediately.**

**Also, I don't know if you'd be interested, but word has it that Minister**  
**Pyrites has begun to lose public favour. Not that he had all that much**  
**to begin with TBH. One more scandal while he's in office and he is well**  
**and truly fucked. Let us all hope it happens before he manages to get**  
**working on any of those stupid plans of his.**

**Hoping to see you soon,**

**Amara.**

**P.S. Are you dating Viktor Krum?! Check attached clipping for details.**

* * *

Back in Estonia again, but this time it was for Junior Worlds! And once again, Bella found herself walking around with Sandra Lewis because she had nowhere else to go and was a bit bored of the other competitors since they were all at least three years older than them and uninteresting. Still, it gave her a good chance to make use of her mobile's camera and take some good photos for later.

She'd upload them on a set schedule to keep people entertained.

"Oooh! Look at  _that_!" said Lewis, excitedly pointing at something that Bella was sure she was too short to see. Lewis was tall. Compared to Bella at least, she was tall.

"What?" What was she supposed to be seeing?

"Food."

Bella  _did_  like food very much, but maybe not with the same level of excitement. Still, Lewis proceeded to drag her across the street to a building that seemed to be a cafe. Inside there was a long counter filled with pastries and such, and Lewis was already in line while Bella had to stand back and determine whether or not she should get anything.

Eventually she decided to get a hot roll. At least it would be something that wouldn't make her sick and it would be reasonably filling considering the size of the bloody things.

"I'm getting a scone," Lewis confided in a staged whisper, as if this was some big secret. Considering her mum's dietary requirements though, maybe it was.

"You can get them everywhere at home," Bella pointed out. Britain was kind of known for them even. Like  _only_  known for them if they considered how the rest of the world viewed them.

"Well yeah, but mum doesn't want me eating them, so I never get buy any."

That sucked.

Once their food was acquired, Bella tugged the other girl out of the cafe before she managed to give in an buy an arse load of sweets she definitely shouldn't pile up just yet. She'd been eying up the anise biscuits a bit too closely and it was better to be safe than sorry.

She then had to guide the other teen away from the street where she very nearly stepped into oncoming traffic after being too concentrated on her food. "You need to be more careful and pay more attention to your surroundings."

"But everything'll work out anyway, so it's not so bad, Bella!"

How someone could be so chipper after nearly getting hit by a lorry, Bella didn't know. Sometimes Sandra's excitement seemed very fake, and then Bella would just look at her and see the near Luna-like happiness on her face and think that maybe someone  _could_  be that happy all the time.

Though seriously, that happy  _all_  the time? How did she manage it? And where did the overflowing optimism come from? Even on her best days, Bella couldn't help but be critical of everything. And yet Lewis was out there, just walking through life as if everything was a fine and dandy and nothing could ever hope to bring her down.

"Just try to be more careful. You can still get hurt and you don't want to ruin your chances at the competition, right?"

Eventually she managed to get a nod of acquiescence out of the girl, which would have to be enough for the time being. Maybe Bella should say something to her mother just to make certain she was being safe?

"Come on, let's go!" said Sandra, heading back toward the hotel they were staying in. "Don't want to miss our curfew."

Bella hastened after her a little bit slower though, and more mindful of her surroundings. "Stop running in the snow, you can slip and fall and then break something important! And then it'll all be over!"

"Live a little!"

She  _was_  living. Safely.

* * *

Albus was not having a good year. Of all the things to happen this term, he hadn't expected to find out that his long-time friend was actually a Death Eater in disguise. And that said Death Eater had been manipulating everyone so thoroughly under the direction of a higher power. Of course Albus knew that power was Voldemort. There was no denying it in his mind. No Death Eater just randomly decides to do all of this work without a justified reason.

Still, they'd all been tricked. And for some reason, whatever plan he'd been using, was no longer necessary, which was why he brought the real Alastor back.

What could Voldemort be getting up to? Why did he need Belladonna Potter? Albus had entered Prunella into the tourney. He'd entered her under Mahoutokoro after all and the chances of Barty Crouch Jr. choosing the same magical school where there were so many others that were older and more noteworthy, were very low. But Voldemort had wanted Belladonna entered for whatever reason.

Severus had already showed him the Dark Mark. It was getting darker and darker by the day. It was even starting to move a little, showing that Voldemort had been growing in power slowly, somewhere they couldn't even begin to imagine.

And furthermore, he still wasn't convinced that Tomas Night  _wasn't_  Voldemort himself. Looking just like Tom Riddle back in his youth did was suspicious enough as it was, never mind that Tom had looked very much like his own father did as well.

"The Night boy is far too attached to Belladonna Potter to be the Dark Lord in disguise," Severus told him. "I have seen them interacting and kept a close watch on them just to be safe, and she is more forward with him, as well as the one convincing him to partake in her mad schemes and ideas. I cannot imagine the Dark Lord doing such a thing, even for someone he might fancy."

Tom was a grown man of nearly a century. The chances of him allowing a teen girl to have any control over him were non-existent. At the same time, he'd always been a good actor, capable of putting anyone under his spell, for lack of a better term. It could just be some elaborate act to get into Belladonna Potter's good graces and trick her somehow. She was the one he'd chosen to force into the tournament. Albus wouldn't put it past him to use such underhanded tactics. Tom had gotten Bellatrix Lestrange to violate her marriage contract for him, and had gotten Xenophon Nott to dedicate his entire life to the man's very existence. He could and  _would_  do this as well.

And Tomas Night was too talented to be a teenager. Capable of unsupported flight at the age of seventeen? Sharing a birthday with Tom Riddle as well? It was all too convenient. He was so very similar to Voldemort.

"He needs to be watched further," Albus insisted to Severus, who rolled his eyes as he took up his cup of tea. "Too many similarities, Severus. Surely you've drawn your own conclusions?"

The greasy-haired man shrugged a shoulder. "I have other things to worry about, Dumbledore. More than teenagers cavorting about the school with their ill-controlled hormones blaring in everyone's faces. So long as my snake isn't harmed by him, I don't see him as a threat worth my undivided attention. There are pressing matters to attend to at present now that I am Deputy Headmaster."

It was that kind of thinking that proved how young and naive Severus was compared to Albus. Albus knew better. He always knew better.

But if Severus wasn't going to get further involved, then Albus would simply have to do this on his own. He'd been working many things undercover for years, and Albus rarely shared information with people. The less people that knew what he knew, the better off all of them would be. He'd been firm in this belief for decades and he wouldn't stop now.

* * *

Aaliyah eyed Alejandra Lewis with disappointment. The woman was very youthful in appearance, and a bit of a snob if she was being honest. She was older than Aaliyah by a years but still looked very young and attractive. And she'd always been a bit of a bitch. Just a bit. Not enough to where it was obvious to everyone she met, but for those who knew he long enough... they knew indeed.

The woman never did appreciate people having something to say about her methods either in training herself or her child. And all Aaliyah had been trying to do was get her to see that her daughter needed a break of some sort.

Sandra Lewis wasn't a machine. She did not posses the magically enhanced body that Bella got. She didn't have Twice-Blessed Healing on her side either. She was a normal kid basically, and her mother was pushing her too hard.

Already, Aaliyah had to pose a few concerns to the National Ice Skating Association in hopes of having them take a look into the situation. She hadn't told Bella about it because she didn't want Bella's attention to be split into so many places during the heavy competition part of the season.

Even today she'd approached the other woman with a few suggestions on letting her skater rest properly. And not just her skater, her daughter. Sandra was the woman's own flesh and blood for fuck's sake! She should be  _more_  concerned over the girl's well being than strangers were.

Hell, the photo Bella and Sandra had posted together that morning, of them in the hotel lobby, had gotten a considerable amount of concern from both of their fans. As a responsible guardian figure. Aaliyah monitored everything Bella posted not only to keep her safe, but to make certain she didn't violate any of NISA's rules. Many people noted that the Lewis girl was looking rough. But her mum didn't want to hear of it.

If things weren't taken into consideration, she could get hurt. It didn't matter who won or lost. It mattered that a child didn't end up paying for her own mother's mistakes. If Aaliyah had to take on the girl as another skater because her mother wasn't doing right by her, she was certain Bella wouldn't mind.

It would seem that another report was due. Sandra deserved a coach who wanted what was best for  _her_. Even if it meant that she had to take it easy now and then. Just because Alejandra never got to the Olympics didn't mean she had to push her daughter so hard all the damn time. The Grand Prix Final was pretty prestigious in its own right and four silver medals were nothing to sneeze at.

On one hand she worried that it wasn't her business to speak up, but on the other hand, as a fellow coach and member of NISA, it was her job to make certain all the skaters were treated as they should be.

* * *

Bella had never been witness to a major skating accident before. There were just so many things put in place to minimise injury as much as possible. The thought of something serious  _actually_  happening didn't actually cross her mind all that often because of how rare it truly was these days.

And yet…

Sandra Lewis had gone onto the ice last for her Free Skate. She'd gotten a higher score than Bella during the Short Program, and many had said she would win because of a five point difference giving her a considerable margin for Bella to have to fight through. Bella came out with 195.14 points in total after getting 65.00 points only in her Short Program. That left Lewis with the need to score 125.15 points or more for her Free Skate to make her total surpass Bella's and win gold.

But then…

Something was off.

That morning the girl hadn't been as upbeat as she usually was. She looked very tired even as she smiled. Enough for Bella to ask if she was feeling well, to which she insisted that she was fine multiple times. Any suggestions to sit out the rest of the competition was met with fierce rejection. Something about her mum being super disappointed in her if she ruined all their hard work at the very last minute.

Alejandra Lewis had been somewhat MIA all day too. She was busy talking to one person, and then talking to another. Aaliyah could barely pin her down for a moment to suggest that Lewis sit out the Free Skate for her own good. Alejandra did  _not_  appreciate someone else's input, suffice it to say.

And then just before Lewis was supposed to go and skate, her mum appeared, demanding to know where her energy drink was and if she'd eaten anything yet.

"No and I left it at the hotel because it's gross and I didn't want any today," was what Lewis had said, which did  _not_  make her mother happy. And the girl could tell judging by the guilty look on her face. As if making her mum unhappy was that horrible of a concept.

Sure, it sucked that your kid didn't like your herbal blend crap, but it was just one abandoned thermos out of many. There were water fountains everywhere. And while they wouldn't give her any energy, they'd keep her hydrated which was the next best thing for a sick person. Bella didn't get what the big deal was.

Anyway, Lewis had gone to do her routine, the usual smile on her face as she told Bella, "Nothing's wrong with me. I'm fine." Yet on the first jump, an attempted Triple Axel, her body just kind of went limp mid-air and she landed in an unmoving heap.

And for the first time, Aaliyah had to physically hold Bella back from getting on the ice. And she understood why to an extent. Don't get in the way of the paramedics and all that shite. But still! Her somewhat friend was out there once the ice, unconscious and possibly terribly injured if she hit her head anywhere. Head injuries were dangerous as hell!

In the end, Bella won but if felt cheap. Her greatest competition got hurt because she was ill or something and had forced herself to try for the sake of her mother who looked more like she was being personally inconvenienced then worried of her daughter's well being.

Bella wasn't the most in touch with her emotions, but even  _she_  knew that was fucked up.

* * *

**Lewis got hurt.**

_What happened?_

And what possibly led up to such a thing happening and did Bella end up anywhere close enough to get hurt as well?

He didn't necessarily care what happened to a complete stranger, but for Bella's sake he would provide emotional support the best he even, even if he didn't really know how to.

Tom wasn't the kind of person anyone should go to in hopes of obtaining some kind of mental or emotional assistance.

**She passed out mid-jump and had to be rushed to the hospital. No**  
**one's allowed to see her just yet.**

_Do you have any idea what might have caused this to happen?_

Could it be the same person that tried to sabotage Bella's skates to make her fall on a jump? A cheater was a cheater, no matter if they were a muggle or not. Tom wouldn't put it past someone to do such a thing.

**IDK. She was super tired today and a lot less upbeat. In fact, I've**  
**never seen her not excited, you know?**

_Is she going to be okay?_

And did anyone have an ideas on what happened?

**I think so? She didn't hit her head on anything so there's no worry**  
**about concussions. And her neck's fine too. She did land weirdly on**  
**her arm though, so that might not be so good.**

**Anyway I won but I'm not happy about it. She was beating me after**  
**the Short Program and now my victory feels cheap. She was literally**  
**on track to whoopin' my arse and getting the gold, and then this shite**  
**happened. She's my only real competition in the Junior Division.**

_Things beyond our control happen all the time, dear Bella. Maybe she has a_  
_medical condition you do not know about. Maybe she became ill overnight_  
_So long as she wakes up and isn't trapped in a bed for the rest of her life,_  
_things will be fine._

It sounded as if the girl got of extremely lucky.

_Besides, you won the Junior Grand Prix Final, which is just as important_  
_in your sport as the Junior World Championships. You set records at the_  
_other competition. People already know how skilled you are. They aren't_  
_going to look down on your victory in this competition since I doubt the girl_  
_was that far ahead of you._

**Well I did get a relatively high Free score. But still! It just doesn't feel**  
**like a win to me.**

_I don't know what to tell you, Bella._

She was too upstanding of an individual. That was her more Hufflepuff nature peaking through.

Bella would surely use an opponent's own weakness against them to win, but she still wanted a fair win. and she wouldn't be satisfied if she didn't feel her victory was earned.

**Well, just thought you should know that we're leaving later than we'd**  
**planned so I can see Lewis before we leave. Can you tell my godfathers**  
**to expect me ten hours later than scheduled pls?**

_What would you do without me?_

**Be all sad and lonely without anyone here to entertain me?**

_Just go back to your competition._

Tom was a big boy. He could totally handle Bella's godfathers on his own.

* * *

"Hello, Mr. Night."

Tom gave Bella's godfather his usual charming grin, feeling a bit nervous for some reason. "Hello, Professor Lupin. Bella contacted me and wished for me to inform you that she'll be back about ten hours later than you'd first planned to receive her. A friend got hurt in the competition and she wants to visit her in the hospital before before she and her coach return."

Lupin instantly became concerned, his mustache shifting a bit. "Do you know what happened?"

"She fell unconscious mid-air and had a rough landing."

The man gave a hum. "Poor girl. I'll tell Sirius, don't worry. Thank you." There was a second of deliberation where they stared one another down, before Lupin added, "Would you like to stay for some tea?"

And suddenly Tom knew that he was about to get another 'shovel talk' and that he wouldn't be able to get out of it. Lupin didn't seem like a nasty person, but there was something about him that screamed DANGER. And no, it wasn't the fact that he was a Werewolf.

No, while the man was bedecked in over-sized jumpers and warm but neutral tones, he still had this thing about him that made Tom believe the meek attitude was partially for show at the very least. The man could probably give as good as Tom suspected Snape could.

"I'd fancy a cup of chamomile if you don't mind," the teen stated, stepped past Lupin and into the man's rooms that he shared with Sirius Black. It was a good thing there was a comfortable looking sofa available because Tom was certain this would be... a while.

* * *

Bella was allowed to visit Sandra in the hospital the morning after the end of Junior Worlds. She hadn't injured her head in any way, but the way she'd landed had broken her arm. She was forbidden from doing any jumps for a long time because they would jostle the arm too much and would set back the healing schedule.

Still, it was one hell of a mercy considering what could have happened to her.

Sandra wasn't allowed out of the hospital yet because she was still very weak and they couldn't figure out why. She was barely awake as it was and looked as if she needed a thousand more hours of sleep.

The two girls were left to their own devices in the room as Aaliyah went down out to get something in the gift shop and Alejandra was busy talking to one of the nurses and the nurses' station. More like screaming, but not so loud where they could make out her words, only her voice.

"Hey Bella," the girl murmured with a tired smile, "can you do me a favour and drink the rest of that so I can pretend I did?" Lewis asked, pointing with her good hand, toward the familiar thermos no doubt filled with more of her usual energy drink. "I dropped my dose for yesterday on the floor and a nurse mopped it up before mum could come back to the room."

Bella winced and looked toward the bathroom, which was right beside the open door which was in perfect view from the nurses' station should her mum even dare look over.

But then she was struck with an idea, and pulled her water bottle out of her bag and chugged the rest in a few gulps. "I'll dump it in this and hide the bottle in my bag," she said conspiratorially, reaching for the thermos and uncapping it one-handed. "Get rid of it later when there's no chance she'll find out about where it went." Bella would toss it in the rubbish at Hogwarts. No safer place to hide a secret from a muggle.

The golden-pearly, watery liquid poured out of the thermos, smelling familiar once again. It  _did_  look like urine inside the bottle too ad her stomach did a few flips at the sight of it. The other teen was a fucking soldier to willing inhale this stuff for her mother every single day, good Christ on a cracker.

"Thanks," said Lewis, an uncharacteristic but regretful smile on her face. "I'm always stuck with it. I just want a few days where I don't have to drink it, you know? I want fizzy drinks, not herbal concoctions."

"No problem. Will she know you didn't take it?" Bella didn't want to get her in trouble of course.

"Yeah. She always knows somehow, but she won't ruin the schedule she set up by giving me another for today, so it's okay. She'll just be disappointed and guilt-trip me forever over it."

That was wack as hell. It was just a drink.

"I hope you get better soon."

In the end, they took a selfie together and Bella posted it with a small update to Twitter to their collective fans would know that Sandra seemed to be on the fast track to getting better.

* * *

Bella looked up as Tom placed a box of Honeyduke's Chocolate in front of her startling her out of her concerned musings. "Many happy returns," he said quietly, so as not to draw too much attention from anyone outside of the group. "Don't say I don't do anything for you." He situated himself beside her at the Slytherin Table and moved to fill his plate up with food that was being offered that evening for supper.

Bella was hit with many realisations at once. Tom remembered her unofficial but technical sixteenth birthday. Tom still remembered that she loved chocolate more than any other sweet out there. Tom used one of her own sayings against her while giving her the gift. It was like the ultimate way to tell someone you paid attention to them and cared about them!

She was touched. And overcome with the need to thank him. Like it was something she just  _had_  to do.

It was a spur of the moment thing. Bella had never felt the need to do it before but in that moment is seemed like the only right way to thank him. And she really wanted to as well.

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, taking note of the fact that his skin was soft and he smelled very nice. Like sandalwood incense, which was her favourite kind, and parchment. And something like an old book oddly enough.

Tom had stiffened the moment her lips made contact, and Bella was very much aware of the attention her friends were giving them both. It really wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a bloody kiss on the cheek. No need for Hermione to be gaping so unattractively over it.

"Thanks, Tom," she told him with a grin, unable to control her sudden need to blink a lot. "I'll eat every bar and think of you while doing so," she teased.

He sent her a withering look, the mood broken, but he said nothing about what had happened, and none of her friends said anything either. Though Blaise and Hermione appeared resigned and disappointed.

She decided to get a head start, opening the box and pulling out a peanut-filled chocolate bar immediately.

"No," Hermione protested, shaking her head. "Eat real food first. You have a ' _lifestyle_ ' to maintain and sweets are taken at desert, not supper. You can wait until the desserts are being served before indulging in your unhealthy obsession."

Aw! "Killjoy." Cocoa was actually very healthy too. Just not the other stuff added to it to make chocolate bars.

Taking up the box, Bella moved to shove it in her bag for later, only for it to not fit. The bottle from early that morning was still inside it. Bella swapped them out and grinned at her genius. No undetectable extension charms necessary! She was too brilliant for words. And the bottle could go in the nearest bin. She was a great friend.

"Bella, where did you get  _that_?" Tom asked suddenly, eyes only for the bottle.

"...Why?" His tone of voice made her concerned instantly.

"That is a potions mixture. Have you been drinking that?"

She sent the bottle a dubious look. "No, it's a gross energy drink my friend's mum makes her. She asked me to get rid of her dose for the day because she didn't want to drink it. It tastes terrible or so she said. I sure as hell don't wanna drink it."

"That is a potion, Bella. More than one in fact. Watered down a bit, but it looks like someone mixed Liquid Luck and Amortentia together." He grabbed the bottle and opened it. "It smells like chocolate and parchment."

"No it smells like  _books_  and parchment," Bella insisted. "I'm a chocoholic and there's no chocolate in that."

"Unless it's got Amortentia in it," Tom pointed out, holding the bottle out to Hermione who leaned in to give it a sniff. "Then it would smell different to each person."

"Bella, it's got at least one potion in it. Are you sure this person isn't trying to drug you without you noticing?" asked Hermione, a frown of concern on her face. "It wouldn't be the first time figure skaters tried tearing each other down."

That got a scoff. "Sandra Lewis doesn't have it in her to drug someone. She's too nice for that. And she carries her thermos everywhere. Her Wikipedia page even says she only eats and drinks whatever her mum makes for her unless at competitions."

Hermione gasped.

Tom tasked. "You should take that bottle to your Head of House, because if I'm right, your friend's mother has some kind of magical connection and has been feeding her a concerning amount of a near-illegal potion, and a  _definitely_  illegal one when competitions are considered."

Well shite.

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drama!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I think I'm getting over my sickness!

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

Of all the things he wanted to deal with that evening, it wasn't Belladonna Potter. He had to sit back during dinner and watch as she and Tomas Night got a little too friendly for his liking, even if it wasn't against school rules and he couldn't punish them for it. Besides, both weren't like other teenagers were anyway, too ambitious for their hormones to control their every waking thought.

But of course as her Head of House and the Deputy Headmaster, he had to at least hear her out. Especially since she wasn't often one to come to him with any problems. So when she appeared at his door looking just a tad too anxious, he'd let her inside and summoned some tea for them to partake in so he could keep his calm.

"Professor, is it possible to mix Felix Felicis and Amortentia together without them ruining the effects of each other?"

A student ever asking about love potions in general always sent up red flags in his mind and made him aggravated. They were of the most vile potions known to magic and he detested anyone showing an interest in them. He also worked very hard to squash any growing interest in them just to be safe.

And now one of his best students was asking after those same potions. She was too mature and decent of heart to want to use one, so it had to be for another reason.

"Why do you need to know?"

The girl reached into her satchel and withdrew a plastic bottle - a muggle item - filled with shimmering, gold and pearly liquid. She placed it on his desk where he could easily grab hold of it, and leaned away a bit to keep her distance. "That's the energy drink that my… friend Sandra has to drink every day. Her mum makes it because she doesn't trust medicine and stuff. Sandra drinks this every day and always carries it in a thermos. She got hurt at the competition and while in the hospital, asked me to get rid of it because she hates the flavour despite it always smelling good. I dumped it in my bottle and forgot about it until dinner where Tom saw it and insisted it had a potion in it and I should talk to you about it because it's 'illegal'," she explained, using air quotes when necessary.

Severus took up the bottle, eyes taking in the consistency of the liquids inside. He opened it and took a deep breath through the nostrils. Indeed, it smelled exactly as Amortentia would for him. The colours gave away which potions were used, but he could tell they weren't used in full. Such potions were expensive to acquire and create. Someone with skill in potions had managed to lessen the effects without ruining the potions. That was why they'd been thinned out and watered down to an extent. It took a lot of skill to do that correctly.

The implications of someone feeding their child two dangerous potions on the daily for the sake of some sport, even if it was a muggle one, made him sick. And he knew very well that there were parents all over the world who did such things to their children so their children could be 'superstars'. The concept of doping was not lost on Severus. He was from the muggle world initially after all. He'd read about some of the greatest scandals ever in muggle sports caused by doping.

"What is your friend's normal temperament like?"

"Cheerful. Optimistic to an annoying degree. Bubbly and overly nice. What a Hufflepuff should be technically in my opinion. But she left the stuff in her hotel room the last day of the competition, and she was lethargic, a little more paranoid but still obsessed over not angering her mother, and she passed out mid jump on the ice. Aaliyah and I tried to get her to sit it out but she refused and insisted she was fine and could handle it. And then in the hospital she was pretty much the same and hadn't drank any of the stuff her mum made her the first day in, nor any on the day I took her dose with me. She said her mum would know that she didn't drink it but wouldn't risk upsetting their schedule by taking another of her doses out of order."

A perpetual exposure to Felix Felicis would make one ridiculously careless and optimistic. Suddenly stopping a scheduled intake of it would cause withdrawal and might convert other potions into poison. The cure for an overdose of Liquid Luck wasn't another potion. It was Magical Ginger Tea, and a lot of it constantly being forced into the body. The tea would consist of magical herbs the body needed as well as water.

Mixing Liquid Luck and Amortentia wasn't bad so long as the schedule wasn't disrupted and both were taken at the same time, which as shown by the bottle, they were.

Three days without taking any of the concoction, and then suddenly taking it again… would be detrimental. Especially in the prolonged exposure lasted longer than a month, and he was certain it had if Potter's seriousness was anything to go by.

"Who are your friend's parents?" he asked, trying to think of anyone of the appropriate age who would be a potions genius.

"Alejandra Lewis is her mum. Her dad died years ago, so it's just been them on their own these past few years."

He hummed in thought, mind reeling backward some twenty years. "She attended Hogwarts in the nineties, but left upon receiving her O.W.L.s.," Severus revealed, remembering her very well. "She was Professor Slughorn's new prodigy and he introduced us at one of his Slug Club parties. I had newly obtained the title of Potions Master and he'd been hoping I would take an interest in her and perhaps offer an Apprenticeship for when she graduated. She decided to stay in the muggle world after receiving her O.W.L.s however, and any letters would return unopened."

He never would have thought someone with such a seemingly decent head on their shoulders and such potential in potions would ever be so disrespectful toward their craft. She'd been a Ravenclaw if he recalled the colour of her robes correctly.

"I have to inform the Ministry," he told the child before him.

She looked ready to protest, but he wouldn't have it. "You must understand, she has not only broken the law by giving her daughter something of that nature during competition times - even if it is a muggle competition, it's illegal - but she has also endangered her child by prolonged exposure to it.

"It's also illegal for an adult to administer Amortentia to a minor. It is the only decent law about the potion that exists. While the potion doesn't create lust, it is often used for sexual purposes and if given to a minor by an adult, it is treated like a date rape drug no matter the intentions behind it. Children cannot consent, which is what places the entire blame on the adult in these scenarios in the Wizengamot, even if the child was willing and understood the consequences. Adults drugging fellow adults is more complicated because they are considered of sound mind and could possibly be lying. Children drugging other children is also very stressful to deal with in court as you may assume."

"But Amortentia is a  _love_  potion, sir!" the girl said very tellingly. "Why would Sandra's mum need to dose her with a love potion? That's weird and sounds like she's a paedophile and I wasn't getting those kind of vibes from her!"

He sighed. "The term 'love potion' is a romantic tag used to draw in people who are simple of mind to make more money. Such potions don't create love or even lust. They create an obsession and a deep need to please the person who added their hair to the potion. Doing whatever they want you to do because it brings you happiness the potion creates and fills your being with. Most people think only with their genitalia and don't consider much else beyond sexual gratification when using the potion, but some have gone above and beyond and convinced their victims to murder their enemies for them. Have convinced them to sign over all of their possessions. It isn't always used for sex, Ms. Potter. While she isn't looking for sex from her own daughter, she was looking for compliance in something, but was smart enough to dilute the potion to an extent so the effects won't be too terrible." Not that it made her actions any better. He was still revolted by the fact that he'd even once considered taking her under his wing.

Potter sighed. "It's gonna ruin Sandra's career. She's worked so hard for as long as I have even. She loves skating."

"If it's not stopped, it'll take her life," he countered with intense solemnity. "There is more at stake than some meagre muggle sport. This is her own health that's at risk. This a girl being abused in a very specific way by her own mother. We don't even know if she truly became a figure skater of her own volition, or if this is another Prunella Potter problem where she was forced into it by her own parent because said parent didn't achieve their own dreams."

As in, did her parent force her to only do something she was interested in during her entire childhood? And was she only allowed to show interest in one thing so her entire life was dedicated to this one subject and she had no talent anywhere else? Did she even have talent without the Liquid Luck coursing through her body and making her life easier in its own way?

Doing what was right versus doing what was easy was the dilemma. He could not in good conscience, allow this to continue. It was indeed sad that the girl was going to lose whatever she'd built thus far, but it had to be done.

There was going to be at least a year of detox necessary to fully cleanse her entire body of the potions and their influence. She would then have to see a Squib Psychiatrist because with the Liquid Luck no longer shaping her attitude and temperament, she wouldn't be the same person she had been before.

And her mother would no doubt be seeing prison, which would leave the probably Squib child either to the muggle or Magical governments. Who knew what would happen to her after that? Would her knew guardians even be able to provide for her career if she even wanted to continue skating?

And this wasn't the first case of a Magical using Liquid Luck in a muggle competition and getting caught. Things like this had been handled before. Alejandra Lewis' reputation among the muggles was going to be torn apart by wizards as punishment for thinking she could abandon her magical roots but use magic to get ahead in a world not truly her own any longer. By extension, her daughter would suffer because of that to.

The muggles would be informed very clearly of her offenses and then they'd be allowed to spread whatever they wanted about her as additional punishment. Wizards were not the most mature in handling punishment.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ms. Potter. I apologise for what has to happen, but it's for her own well being in the end. We need to stop this now before the withdrawal gets any worse and her mother tries to force her body to realign with her schedule. It won't be pleasant for her and the problem should be handled expeditiously."

* * *

Anytime they didn't have to do class, was always a good time. And the reason for them not having to do Transfiguration that day was because in the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw class, Seamus Finnegan looked at his wand and the entire room blew up.

And yes, that might be a bit of an over-exaggeration, but seeing as he had a habit of blowing things up with just the minor twitch of the wand, Bella didn't feel like she was being too unfair. He was even grinning about it!

To make things even weirder, Dumbledore called in Filch to clean up the mess, instead of the House Elves, which wasn't fair in Bella's opinion. He didn't have access to his magic to fix everything up like the Elves or even Dumbledore could.

Also, instead of relocating to another classroom to finish his work, Dumbledore just sent out a mass note that the rest of his classes were canceled for the day.

"I mean, it's not like I  _wanted_  to be around him any more than usual," said Theo during their new free period. "And Tom already taught us what he'd been planning in our lessons this week so it's not a great loss for us."

Hermioen was obviously not pleased by it though. "Hogwarts has hundreds of unused classrooms. Some even right on his floor! Why couldn't he just make use of one of those? What is he up to that he couldn't finish a simple lesson?"

She had a point. He'd apparently disappeared very quickly afterward and no one knew where he'd gone. Not that they cared. He could fall off the viaduct and they would probably laugh in relief. Throw a party in the Slytherin Common Room and sneak Neville and Luna in since their commons were so close anyway.

Still, Dumbledore's incompetence as an educator was once again making itself known.

"I think he's too senile to be trusted in positions of authority anymore," Bella said. "He's almost one-fifty, and that's the common death age for most magical humans. He can't be all to sane of mind if he's been noted to be madder than a hatter for the last four decades and it just gets worse as the years pass."

"I could always write another letter," Hermione suggested with a grin. "It seems to be a tried and true formula for me, and he has a displeasing history in the last few years alone."

She  _was_  persuasive. If anyone could get something done it would be Hermione.

"Do it!" they urged as one.

* * *

Hermione stared down at the letter she'd gotten. Ever since getting a Blood Test done at Gringotts, it had been public knowledge that she was a Halfblood related to the Dagworth-Grangers and the Smiths. And Shoshana Smith, Lady of the Smith House, had gladly accepted Hermione and her mother Helen into the family without an issue. They were from a side branch and there was no chance of them challenging the Heir for rights to the Headship, so there was no problem in welcoming them in.

Still, this also meant she was informed every single time something would happen in the family. Shoshana had just sent her a letter that made her gape and wonder how the hell the contents could be possible considering what she knew to be the truth and what was supposedly true in the letter.

**Dear Hermione,**

**It's best that you find out this newest piece of information from me instead**  
**of from The Daily Prophet. Considering who your best friend is, I thought a**  
**warning would be appreciated so you can tell her in person. Having to learn**  
**from a newspaper isn't always the best.**

**Cousin Immanuel has acquired a lover over the past few months, and they**  
**are planning to get married soon. It w ill not be advertised, but it'll still get**  
**out there somehow judging by how loose lips can be. His wife-to-be is none**  
**other than Lily Evans, Belladonna Potter's birth mother. He's been revealed**  
**to be under no negative influence and is merely happy that the little crush**  
**he'd formed in school is being reciprocated.**

**Personally I do not believe this rubbish in the least. She never gave him the**  
**time of day because he was a Hufflepuff a year below her and he lacked any**  
**popularity. Still, I cannot find any objection to this union and he's happy, so**  
**it will continue as they plan, with or without my direct support. And I don't**  
**want to be the one to ruin his happiness. I'll let her do that and then handle**  
**her afterward.**

**Also… Evans is claiming that she is pregnant, and from what I could see in**  
**person, I'd concur. However it was publicised that she can no longer bear**  
**children which was why she got disowned, so I don't know what happened.**  
**I don't know if this is some elaborate scheme she's cooked up, or if she has**  
**somehow fixed her problem, but it might spell trouble for the Potter twins.**  
**It's best you warn them now.**

**There will be no official ceremony or reception. It'll be kept hushed as they**  
**want it to be. You might have a new cousin by September. I don't really**  
**know what more to say on the matter.**

**Hoping things are going well for you in school, and wishing you'd send us**  
**letters more often,**

**Shoshana,**  
**Head of the Ancient House of Smith.**

"Bella, I think you should read this letter I got in the post from Lady Smith," she said, handing over the latter before Bella could even ask what it was about. "It's- it's not good," she murmured as her friend took up the parchment.

It took about a minute, but then Bella was shaking her head. "It can't fucking be! Tom, Lily can't have kids right?" She proceeded to descend into rushed Parseltongue with him, the both of them looking as baffled as Hermione felt.

"What happened?" Blaise asked, staring at the letter with obvious interest.

"Lily Evans is about to marry into the Smith family and become my cousin-in-law," Hermione said, still confused. "And she's claiming pregnancy with a Smith child."

* * *

"How is this even possible? She wasn't supposed to be able to have kids anymore," Prue pointed out. That was why they went through all that work to remove said ability in the first place! Prue experienced the most conflict of her inner being just by participating in a plan that involved the Blackest of Dark Magick. And if it ended up being pointless, she would scream.

Bella and Night were staring each other down, a conversation passing between them that Prue wasn't privy to. The three of them had taken their issue to the Room or Requirement in order to have their discussion unhindered. It wouldn't do for their illegal activities to be broad-casted to the entire school after all. She doubted others outside of Bella's friends would understand. Hell, Prue hadn't even told Ron about it because why he was very tolerant, some things he just wasn't ready to be challenged on just yet.

"I had very specific words in the ritual," explained Night.

"What were the words?" Bella asked. "Context matters."

" ** _'May the accursed witch of choice never darken the world with her spawn ever again. So mote it be.'_**  There was a photo of her involved, along with the pieces you provided me with. It definitely affected her only. There is only one of her in the world."

Prue looked to Bella, because she was the older twin and was super smart, and so she would obviously have answers that Prue didn't. Bella was always present and self-aware whereas Prue often felt lost and confused about everything. So she would be the one with answers naturally.

But Bella looked just as lost as she did for once. "I really can't think of how someone can get around that. Maybe she's just lying?"

"She's confident for a reason, which makes me think she  _isn't_  lying," Night said plainly. "No one is this confident when they have nothing to back it up.  _She_  believes she has something on her side, and that's problematic enough as it is."

That didn't make this situation any better honestly. It just meant that Lily was up to no good as usual. What would happen to the child if there truly was one? The woman hadn't been the best of parents to Prue, and certainly hadn't been a parent to Bella. She wasn't suddenly going to become a good person for the new kid. Serving her sentence in Azkaban didn't make her a good person suddenly, especially since she bought her way out with an easier sentence.

Bella hummed. "I'm officially turning seventeen in October and could work that up to September with a bit more work with the Time Turner. Who knows what she can do if the child is born before then. I'll need to contact the Goblins over this. Because of course there's an angle she's working from that we might not have considered. Just because  _she's_  been disowned, doesn't mean her offspring will be. The child will still have a relation to us and our Houses and might fall under our control in a way. I'm not sure how this works on the Magical side. Y'all have some wonky arse laws over here that are very different from the muggle side."

"So you're not… you know, planning to interfere with the pregnancy?" asked Prue hesitantly, unsure of just how she should have worded the question but still wanting answers.

It wasn't her fault that these kinds of things didn't happen often enough for there to be endless gossip in the press about them!

Bella got her meaning though, and vehemently shook her head. "There's one thing to remove her ability to  _have_  kids so she can't cause problems for another child ever again. That's not putting anyone's life on the line and she has proven to not be trustworthy around children. To force someone to miscarry though is pretty disgusting and I wouldn't condone that. While I'm worried about the potential sibling we might end up with, that sibling did not  _ask_  to be created nor brutally murdered just because we hate its mother. It didn't ask to be caught up in our micro-war with Lily. And also that shite is illegal... not that I care much about legalities when our government is so fucked up, but you get what I mean."

She had a point, and Prue felt relieved and a bit guilty for doubting her twin's character at all.

" _Technically_ ," began Night, still on Bella's point, "it's in a state of being and non-being right now. There are no laws about this kind of topic because we rarely have children to begin with so even having one is considered a miracle. The fetus doesn't have rights nor is considered a being unless it leaves the host's body and has a heartbeat for more than a day. Both are technically required because there are thousands of marked instances in the last hundred years of Magical Britain, where the fetus died within the twenty-four hour window because it was too weak and its core imploded. The child is not given to the parents upon birth, it is held in a special incubator in a separate room until the proper amount of time elapses, in case it  _does_  pass on. This is to limit any further emotional attachments that the parents would gain upon seeing and touching their offspring in person for the first time. All who decide to go to St. Mungo's are aware of this requirement and are willing to take the risk if they signed the paperwork.

"So for the time being, this child doesn't really exist as a person and wouldn't count as one despite obviously being in the womb. No laws affect it, meaning there are none that protect it. It's in an in between state, both being and non-being in this case. Existing and not. So you  _could_  force someone to experience a miscarriage or orchestrate the situation in which it'll happen to them without legal repercussions, not that I'd condone that of course. But anyone can if they actually wanted to in theory."

"What? We've got Schrodinger's Baby *****  on our hands or some shite?" Bella asked, a look of pure astonishment on her face. "That's fucked up, Tom."

Night shrugged. "If that is how you'd like to refer to it, then yes. Perhaps this is another topic for you and Ms. Granger to look into. It  _does_  sound a bit concerning now that I think about it. It was never a topic I personally felt drawn to, but as I think on it more, it doesn't sound right and I'm shocked that nothing was ever done about this."

"No shite. Okay, fine. So Lily is out there carrying possibly another child somehow. This means that she's going to be coming around again, for who knows how long, trying to cause drama. We need to be prepared."

"Is this in any way a danger to  _me_  specifically?" Prue asked, raising her hand just a bit to get their attention once more.

Night shook his head. "She's passed the age requirement to obtain Ladyship over your Houses. However the Gaunt House is still unclaimed and if a child is born to her before Bella turns seventeen, she  _might_  still have a chance to take the Ladyship on behalf of the child. It's all very murky at the point. Each House has different rules that might or might not be affected by the Wizengamot's own personal rules. And the Goblins have the answers.

"So for now you're safe since she's passed the fifty-five year mark for  _your_  Ladyships. But by extension as a member of House Gaunt still, you and Bella are possibly both in danger."

Well fucking brilliant.

* * *

"I'VE DONE IT! I HAVE DONE IT! I HAVE SUCCEEDED!"

Bella couldn't control herself as she threw her arms into the air. Her emotions were just that uncontrollable!

"AFTER YEARS OF THIS! I HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN IT DOWN!"

She whipped around to face Aaliyah and asked, "Did you get that on camera? Tell me you got that on camera or my heart will be destroyed!"

Said camera was set up on a tripod as usual, aimed right toward the ice to record her practice, like usual. And it looked like it was on.

Her coach gave an affirmative thumbs up and Bella had to stop herself from bouncing up and down on the ice like a maniac. Now she just had to do the move over and over to make certain she was truly prepared to do it in competition.

The Cantilever had been one of the many goals she'd set for herself all those years ago, and here she was, finally getting it done. Finally able to add it to her list of skills. She could now use it in competitions and exhibitions. And she could train variations of it for more appealing or difficult positioning.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself there, kiddo," Aaliyah warned. "You still have to take it easy when training it. Rushing into these things is the sure way to hurt yourself."

They both knew Bella hurting herself wasn't that much of a concern, but it would be foolish to just do whatever without concern for her own well being. Bella was not a masochist in any sense of the term.

* * *

**WITCH ILLEGALLY DOSES HER CHILD WITH LIQUID LUCK SO SHE'LL WIN MUGGLE  
COMPETITIONS! **

Alejandra Amoretta Lewis, former student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,  
has been taken into custody for being in possession of illegal amounts of Felix Felicis and  
Amortentia among other questionable potions in her personal stores. The witch of thirty-  
five years had formerly been Missing In Action for over a decade, suddenly fell under the  
DMLE's radar most recently.

Thanks to an anonymous tip, Potions Master Severus was made aware of Lewis' possible  
actions toward her own daughter, and set to uncovering the fullest truth by including the  
Aurors in his suspicions. With a warrant acquired, they tracked down Lewis' address and  
found proof that she had been brewing massive quantities of Liquid Luck and Amortentia  
and seemingly feeding them to her Squib daughter. While not proven, the facts seem to  
back this theory up heavily.

The two were not at home at the time the investigation began, but Aurors are waiting for  
them. An anonymous source revealed that the two are out of the country at present due  
to Lewis' daughter obtaining an injury in her muggle competition and being admitted to a  
muggle hospital for the time being. This source revealed that the child in question missed  
a dose of her potion and fell unconscious during a dangerous stunt. She proceeded to miss  
two more doses and has been unable to build up the energy to leave her hospital bed since.  
It is possible that she knows about the potion and has rebelled against her mother.

Severus Snape has declared it an obvious symptom of withdrawal and a warrant for Lewis'  
arrest has been processed. The daughter has a room prepped in St. Mungo's for when they  
return, where she'll be admitted for however long it will take to rid her body of the effects  
of the potions possibly coursing through her system.

No one has managed to determine why Alejandra Lewis even did this to begin with. It has  
been revealed on her personal records that she was an up-and-coming prodigy in her year  
at Potions when she was still in school. She appeared to have a bright future ahead of her  
according to her professors, and yet she decided to go back to the muggle world, marry a  
muggle who died some time later, and put her efforts into something so terribly illegal. No  
sense can be made of these decisions and we are waiting for her explanation.

A court date has been scheduled for 10 April. Madam Bones is determined to understand  
why such a promising young mind would believe that dishonesty and liberal abuse of her  
magic was the smart decision in the end. As for the daughter, there have been whispers  
of her being removed from her mother's custody, and rightly so of course! No child ever  
deserves this sort of treatment! As always when Amortentia is involved, the child cannot  
receive any punishment for its use even if they were a willing participant in the drugging.  
Children cannot consent, remember this important law of ours.

This means that the Ministry has to once more get involved with the muggle government,  
and that can be a trying situation. This whole problem has put our entire community at  
risk by having our people need to communicate to see this through. Muggles have more  
advanced methods of information collecting these days and Lewis and her daughter have  
earned minor fame in the muggle world. It's safe to say their disappearances will cause  
a stir up no doubt, and millions of muggles in various countries cannot be tracked down  
nor Obliviated of their memories of the two. It is uncertain what the Aurors plan to do in  
this case.

For more information on this turn out, stay in touch with our articles and we will try to  
keep you updated! Let us know your thoughts while you're at it! We're always invested  
in our readers' thoughts!

_Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

Her last competition of the season. The Egna Spring Trophy in Italy, right at the end of March. Some people thought it was pointless for her to go since she won gold at both the JGPF and Junior Worlds, but this was a part of the job. The plan. Getting used to multiple competitions over the course of a single season so she wasn't overwhelmed when she finally entered the Senior Division.

From there, Bella would be competing in the World Figure Skating Championships(Worlds), the Grand Prix Series(GP), and the European Figure Skating Championships(Euros and EC), which were the major competitions for the Seniors if one excluded the Olympics since they only came about every four years.

A good rollout for this season would be a good start for next season considering it would be her last as a Junior. If Bella's birthday came before July, she would have been able to immediately join the Seniors upon turning fifteen, but she had to wait an additional year due to an unfortunate birth date. It sucked. She personally felt that she was ready for Seniors  _now_.

She could land a Quad jump. She'd finally managed to learn the Cantilever like she'd always wanted. Her Presentation was right up there with her Technicals. She'd broken and set world records. She was ready.

The interviews were no less easy to get through unfortunately, even with Aaliyah dogging her every step like a persistent shadow. Bella wasn't that good at talking to people. It was always awkward. Such a thing was obvious in her interaction with Lewis. She'd known the girl for some time and had even been sort of friends with her for a while and still didn't feel comfortable calling her by her given name often enough.

It took and entire school year for Bella and her mates to truly become real friends. Simply saying they were friends hadn't been enough. They had to feel it, and it took some time for that to happen.

Questions she kept hearing from everyone, were about Lewis and how she was doing. Bella personally hadn't spoken to her since the hospital room. She was asked her opinion on what had happened. Asked how she felt about it. Asked if she even knew what was going on perhaps.

And that was where Bella's talent in lying came in. She was very good at faking anything and pretending she had no idea what was going on, was very easy.

"Do you know why Sandra Lewis and her coach haven't been spotted since the tragedy back in Estonia?" one of the reporters asked, shoving a microphone in Bella's face.

"I would suppose they want her to keep resting. A broken arm isn't easy to heal or so I've been told. You'd no doubt have to take it easy." She'd never broken an arm before and since her Healing factor was ridiculously advanced, wouldn't know much about tending to long-lasting wounds.

She could only hope that the situation concerning Lewis and her mum was handled expediently and with as little trouble as possible.

* * *

Prue plopped down at the Slytherin Table, which she rarely ever did because she had her own group of a sort at the Gryffindor Table. However today, the twins were mysteriously missing, no doubt busy creating stuff for their dream shop, while Ronald was in the Hospital Wing for eating too much and Ginevra was out practicing for a Quidditch position on the Gryffindor Team with her yearmates.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked the moment her twin joined them, looking a bit lost.

"I walked into a room and found a couple snogging like they didn't have need for air," the redhead stated blandly, her face frozen in a kind of bland expression. "It's not the first time it's happened to me either. Gryffindors tend to really like abandoned classrooms and unfortunately Hogwarts has an arse load of them. Nowhere is safe around here and they can't even put up some kind of warning that the place in question is occupied."

"Ugh!" Bella grunted, pushing away her plate as she was assaulted by the memories she did  _not_  want to be having in the first place! "I know how you feel! I think I've walked in on like two orgies and they got real hot and heavy too!"

Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice and Blaise aimed an  **Anapneo**  at her throat to clear her airway without any hesitation. She sent him a grateful look and then focused her displeased gaze onto Bella. "Do you  _have_  to talk so loudly about that at the dinner table? There are people trying to eat!"

"What? It's not my fault teenagers are randy and can't be bothered to find better places for their little shagging expeditions." And so close to McGonagall's former classroom too. Foolish in Bella's opinion. It was like they were asking for a teacher to come upon them and tan their hides.

Her friends all rolled their eyes at her usual antics.

"Have you told any of the professors about this?" Hermione asked Prue, who had flushed during the time Hermione was scolding Bella.

"No. I'm not a nark, Granger, I just wish they found better places to do it instead of broom cupboards or wardrobes in our Common Room."

Ew. Legit wardrobes? "If Percy Weasley was still here, he'd lose his shite," said Bella, making them all nod. He was very anal retentive about following rules and such and not disrespecting the Houses and their Founder's desires. This would definitely have earned his own Housemates many Demerits and Detentions without any hesitations.

Bella sent Hermione a look, since they were technically now the eldest among their friends. "We're sixteen and we don't go around rubbing ourselves up against people. And I don't really want to, IDK 'bout you. Am I broken? Am I teening the wrong way? Should I be wanting to do this kind of stuff?"

Films, especially American ones, always made it seem like sex was this thing teens couldn't avoid and always wanted to get into ASAP. Bella didn't feel the same and while she thought some people were fine as hell, she didn't feel any urges to do…  _things_  with them. She'd gotten curious before and had access to the internet, but she literally couldn't force an interest in sex at present.

"Contrary to the common belief in pop culture," began Hermione, a frown of displeasure on her face, "Sex is not the most important thing in the world and not everyone experiences growth the same way. You will come to fully understand yourself in time, but don't let the media and what's popular tell you when you're supposed to do something. You are your own person and your experiences are about  _you_ , not everyone else. I'm feeling none of those urges either and I'm older than you are."

"The same for me," said Tom casually as he sat on Bella's other side, inserting himself in the conversation. "I'm the eldest here and I too fell no interest. Some things are more important and that's fine. You have all the time in the world to determine what it is you want in the next century. Don't bother worrying about those sort of things now."

* * *

Alastor Moody, the real one, was not too different from the Moody that Crouch had been acting as the entire term. It was actually impressive now that they fully understand just how much effort he'd put into the little charade. The biggest difference in the situations, was that Neville was no longer rigid in class, or so he claimed. He said he felt at peace finally, and as he had the most exposure to the real Moody out of all of them, they took his word for it.

Moody was stern, but not cruel. He had high expectations of them and actually made note of their successes. The biggest difference in his approach compared to Crouch's, was the fact that neither of his eyes lingered on Prue or Bella for any extended period of time. The real Alastor Moody didn't find them to be interesting in the least.

In his class, he scrapped whatever Crouch had been aiming for, and decided that he wanted them all to learn how to duel. Dueling required them to think fast on their feet and that meant learning their spellwork faster out of necessity. And he was even holding a competition for each Year. If you didn't try at all or showed little progress, you got Demerits in return.

The student with the most wins in each Year would receive a prize, and no, he hadn't limited the competition to only the older students. All Years were involved. It made it kind of exciting, to see how people would do when there were seven prizes on the line.

In Bella's Year, she was at the top with the most wins under her belt, but Neville was only a few wins behind her, with Theo a few behind him, and Hermione just a few behind him. It was a very tight race, and it wasn't lost on her,  _why_  they were the top competitors in this little harmless competition. Tom's guidance had been invaluable to them once again and whoever won for their Year, she knew it was be an amazing turnout.

Moody hobbled through the rows of duels while an enchanted quill kept tally of the outcomes every class period. He would bark instructions whenever he saw someone making a mistake, and compliment those who did something impressive. He didn't coddle, but he wasn't a stoic arsehole either.

The ex-Auror was fully confident that they could reach his expectations if they simply worked hard enough to, so he refused to go easy on them. Not even when McGonagall expressed some concern over whether he was being a tad unfair.

"I'm preparing them to save their own lives one day," the man grunted, leaning on his staff as his fake eye swirled around in the socket. "That's more important than their doubts and insecurities, Minerva."

A hardened war-hero had the fullest confidence that a bunch of teenagers could protect themselves from danger in the coming times. It was kind of nice that someone had that kind of faith in their abilities.

Neville was thriving more than he ever had in any other class besides Herbology. It was nice to see him in such high spirits outside of his natural element. Using his own wand instead of his father's and raising his overall average in the class was a great thing for him.

Any reservations they'd had about the real Moody, ended up being unnecessary in the end. He was pretty awesome in his own way and he wasn't up Dumbledore's arse despite being his long-time friend.

* * *

**Amara,**

**I am not dating Viktor, he is just a good friend. He told me himself that he finds**  
**comfort in our friendship because his fame only spiked in the last two years and**  
**the moment he became an international heartthrob - paraphrased of course - the**  
**people began to treat him differently. He's actually a very shy young man and is**  
**uncomfortable with all the attention. There is a collection of students from all the**  
**schools here, that follow him around whenever they have the chance. About half**  
**are girls. You would be surprised at just how many boys truly fancy him. I think**  
**I saw Ron Weasley in the one group once.**

**Anyway, they are always giggling and are incredibly obnoxious with no respect**  
**for others. They're no longer allowed in the Library because they made so much**  
**noise that Madam Pince kicked them out and then forbade them from coming in**  
**again. She cast a spell that will recognise any of them if they even try to get up**  
**against any of the doors. Viktor takes refuge among the books more often now,**  
**which is sad for him because he does _not_  favour reading as his chosen pastime.**

**If he lingers in the Library as often as possible, no one can try stealing his bag,**  
**or coat, or wand. Yes, someone did try to nick his wand at some point and they**  
**earned themselves a month's worth of detention. Stealing someone's magical**  
**focus is against the law and Headmistress McGonagall was very lenient in not**  
**bringing it up to the DMLE so long as the culprit agreed to cooperate with their**  
**punishment. I've experienced so much second-hand embarrassment from his**  
**stories of being stalked that sometimes I can't even look him in the eye. It is**  
**pretty horrid.**

**You know he goes to Durmstrang, which a very pro-Dark Magic institution. I**  
**was a bit skeptical, but he's been quite invaluable in terms of knowledge and**  
**understanding. There is Dark Magic that in no way is supposed to harm you if**  
**you use it. Just like how not all Light Magic is incapable of causing damage. I**  
**read once, in one of the books the British Ministry foists onto the public, that**  
**Dark Magic requires negative emotions for power, but according Viktor, both**  
**Dark _and_  Light Magic require only strong emotion and clear visualisation.**

**The Unforgivable Curses, which are only Unforgivable in half the world I have**  
**learned, weren't even originally considered Dark Magic. They were meant for**  
**animals nearly a thousand years ago. A quick death for one 'curse', the ability**  
**to coerce into place with another 'curse', and the last 'curse' was supposed to**  
**protect flocks of sheep from wolves without having to just slaughter them all.**  
**It was a murderer in early 1200 AD that decided to use them on a human and**  
**began the trend on his following victims. He wasn't a Dark Wizard either, but**  
**as murder is considered an act of evil that 'splits the soul' in Magical Britain,**  
**those residing in what is now known as the British Isles, deemed it evil and in**  
**the 1800s they became widely known as Dark Magic.**

**I've learned so much about how other magical communities view magic itself**  
**and their beliefs thanks to Viktor. His English is very good when there are no**  
**nerves eating away at him. Unfortunately, he gets nervous very quickly so it's**  
**a process every other day.**

**Bella's Tom has been tutoring us in his free time. He has taught us some Dark**  
**Magic and doesn't forbid us from using. As long as we're certain we can use it**  
**without any noticeable side effects, we can do as we please. He then cleanses**  
**our wands right afterward so no one can reveal our spell history. I do not feel**  
**evil when casting those spells, so I've personally determined that Dark Magic's**  
**not evil and that not all Dark Wizards are evil either. They are only considered**  
**'Dark' because their Cores align with Dark Magic more easily. Magical Britain is**  
**the community that began the accusations of Dark Wizards being evil despite**  
**a good portion of the worst people in our history, being Grey or Light aligned.**  
**Hell, our Minister is pretty evil in my opinion and he's a Light Wizard!**

**When Bella and I eventually get the Squib situation sorted out, would you be**  
**interested in learning Dark Arts? I don't know what your parents taught you**  
**about it and I'm curious to hear your thoughts.**

**Hoping to see you soon,**  
**Mione.**

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

 

> ***Schrodinger's Baby:**  Something that I came up with based upon Shrodinger's Cat.
> 
> **"In simple terms, Schrödinger stated that if you place a cat and something that**  
>  **could kill the cat _(a radioactive atom)_  in a box and sealed it, you would not know**  
>  **if the cat was dead or alive until you opened the box, so that until the box was**  
>  **opened, the cat was _(in a sense)_  both "dead and alive"."**\- Wikipedia.
> 
> So in the wizarding world it is difficult to have children in recent years because of  
>  inbreeding causing a depression in genetic material. Most families manage to only  
>  have 1 child after a  _long_  time. Because of the high death rate of babies once they're  
>  born, for one reason or another, they've developed a rather inhumane way to handle  
>  the situation by trying to form as little attachments to the fetus as possible to not  
>  get their hopes up. Only when it has been removed from the host's body, and has  
>  survived past the 24 Hour mark, will it be considered a living, breathing being that  
>  then falls under the Ministry's laws.
> 
> There is  _obviously_  something there. It has been growing. It has a heartbeat and all  
>  that jazz. It's just not considered a living being. So, both Being  _and_  Non-Being, like  
>  the cat being Dead & Alive at once.
> 
> So in essence, in Magical Britain, because of their own stupidity, it isn't considered  
>  a baby - a living being with emotions, nerves, & a consciousness - until it manages  
>  to live 24 hours after coming out of the womb. It isn't named. The parents don't get  
>  to see it unless it lives. This way it will hurt less, or so they think, if the baby dies  
>  unexpectedly. Anyone who chooses to go to St. Mungo's instead of doing an at-home  
>  birth, knows this will happen and signs an agreement to it before going through with  
>  it. Magical Britain needs fixing, peeps. Hermione will be on the case.

**How was it? Let me know!**

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**See ya! :D**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is passing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Explanations of the obvious kind.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

_Is there something I can help you with?_

As usual, whenever Bella had something she wanted to just dump on him, he was busy. This time it had nothing to do with studying, but working out lesson plans for her friends to train in wasn't exactly easy. After all, he had to make something that would work for all of them and not just some. Each teen had their own level of skill and capability and some worked better than others. But he still wanted them all to feel like they were progressing instead of stagnating.

Stagnation lead to disappointment, and disappointment lead to boredom, which lead to indifference and eventually the output would halt altogether.

**Nah! I just wanted to tell you that I have come up with a secret code!**

_?_

How her mind could just latch onto certain topics in seconds and become obsessed, he had no idea.

Though one thing was for certain, considering her attitude and history, she would lose interest in this by next week.

Still, hearing her out wasn't too much effort on his part.

 **A code that would fuck with someone if they weren't in on it! A code that could**  
**do as much good as it can bad. :P**

_Do tell._

**Okay. So the code involves "TA". Not the kanji, just the two letters next to each**  
**other. Now imagine you insert that into every word you use, directly after the 1st**  
**vowel is used. And I'm excluding the letter "Y" in this. So it's just aeiou. And a word**  
**doesn't have vowels, you leave it as it is. Only after the first consonant, which I**  
**am including "Y" in, you add "AT". So it is "TA" for the first vowel and the it is**  
**"AT" for the first consonant!**

_What made you decide to do this?_

Why was it even something she thought of to begin with? No situation currently woudl require her to have to know some kind of code to escape trouble, so he saw no point in it.

Preparation for Voldemort's inevitable comeback? Whatever he'd manage in a comeback when a good portion of his followers were dead at least.

 **I was watching Sherlock and the episode is about cyphers, so I decided I wanted**  
**to make my own. Wanna see how it would be written out?**

_Fine. Do your worst._

**Not the best decision to put in my hands btw! So this is Little Miss Muffet with my**  
**code.**

 **Latitattle matitass Matutaffet, satatat otanat hatetar tatutaffet, etaatating hatetar**  
**catutards atanatd wathetay. Atalatong catatame ata satpitader, wathota satatat**  
**datotawn batetaside hatetar, atanatd satcatared matitass Matutaffat atawatay.**

_That is ridiculously convoluted._

If he didn't know the original rhyme, he would had come out with a headache. In fact, there was a throbbing behind his eyes beginning just as the thought crossed his mind. Still, saying it all aloud took time to work through, but eventually got it all down.

It was surely cause someone of less mental aptitude, problems.

**But fun!**

_Not really. A lot of unnecessary effort honestly. There's now way you just wrote that free_  
_hand. You typed that out on something before putting it here because that came out too_  
_quickly._

**...You can't prove that.**

He snorted.

_I don't need to._

_And matitass does not sound right when you say it slowly._

**...**

**XD**

**OMG! I CAN'T EVEN! YOUR MIND IS AS DIRTY AS MINE IS! THIS IS WHY WE ARE**  
**FRIENDS! DIRTY DIRTY BOY!**

_I was merely making an observation._

It wasn't Tom's fault Bella's mind was suggestive and that she somehow influenced him to be the same in a sense.

This was on her.

**Sure sure, Mr. Tom A Dildo Lover! I'm so proud. You've been corrupted gloriously!**

_I hate you._

**Fuck off, you love me! :)**

_Is this truly how you are spending your Easter holiday?_

**Nuh uh! I've been checking out memes too! I'm allowed to have fun now and then**  
**tyvm!**

_Hn._

* * *

"It'll be funny!" Bella insisted that morning when they got to the rink. She'd had a plan since before the hols had started and now it was time to put it into action! "Just trust me!" she urged, trying to get her guardian to go along with her madness.

"When did you even get a Tumblr account anyway?" Aaliyah asked as she leaned on the boards. "And what is your url so I can check it over?"

"Like the same time I decided to give in a get a Twitter account. Tumblr is just as valid fyi. And it's  **belladonna-skates**. My avi is a photo of me in my most recent Short Program costume, with a purple filter over it, and my header says I am THAT Bella."

Anyway, what lead to this situation was Bella's proposal for a mini routine simply for the fans and to get a good laugh. She'd already choreographed it over the past few days, and even got a costume made specifically for it. The joke in there that would make it funny, was that the striped dress was short like most skating dresses were, and was made to look like a two-piece instead of an actual dress.

The top section, which looked like a crop top with billowing sleeves, was actually just clipped in place at the shoulders and with the clips removed, it would fall down, covering the skirt with a different skirt and revealing a 'strapless' dress underneath with skin-toned lycra to make it acceptable in a figure skating costume sense.

The joke was that halfway through the routine, the clips would be pulled off so the blue and black striped dress she was wearing, would transform mid-way to a gold and white striped dress. It was to play up a really popular meme going around, and what better way to hop on a trend then to do it fashionably and skillfully? The coolest ones were the unique ones.

She would she share the video on her socials and that would be that.

 **#TheDress**  was a big thing since people still couldn't tell the colours of the dress in question, and despite being weeks old, people still hadn't gotten over it a month later, so Bella was capitalising on that and relying on how easily impressed people could be.

"Kiddo, you have some of the weirdest ways of interacting with your fans, but I applaud you for using social media to such a talented extent. Show me what you've come up with."

Bella beamed as she set up her mobile with the royalty-free music that could be posted on YouTube without getting her copyrighted, and took her position in the center of the rink. They'd iron out some details and then she would record the video and put it out into the world.

Social media was fun sometimes.

And the fans would love the Triple Jumps!

* * *

Tom afforded his Highmaster a serene smile as he came upon the man during one of his many attempts at gaining Severus Snape's support. As if Tom  _wouldn't_  be aware of just what Igor was trying to do. "Hello, sir, Professor Snape. Lovely day we're having," he observed as he gestured to the nearby window where the spring weather was perfect, as it should be.

As expected, Snape stared him down with a look of somewhat forced disinterest, though a sneer did curl his lips as his eyes trailed to Igor, who was very obviously terrified to be around Tom at all. As Bella would say, 'scared shitless'.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Night?" asked Karkaroff, trying to appear as anything but a coward. He failed of course as the small tremour in his voice gave him away.

"I simply wished to obtain your permission to send in my application for the N.E.W.T.s. I believe I'm ready to begin preparations for them for this coming June."

Both professors shared a look, though while the Potions Master appeared intrigued, Karkaroff looked relieved. Tom graduating would mean Tom wouldn't be around him any longer. Or so he believed. Tom never said the man wouldn't see him past graduation of course, but that could be a revelation for another time. One where he couldn't draw strength from having another person around while he and Tom spoke.

"Go right ahead," the former Death Eater said with a vocal quiver. "If you truly believe you can sit them a year early, who am I to stop you? I'll write up the recommendation tonight."

His desperation was almost laughable. Snape wasn't amused.

Still, Tom flashed his usual, charming and disarming grin, showing off his perfect teeth with the face that usually got him whatever he wanted in life. "Thank you, sir. You're ever so generous." His tone was glib.

The look that crossed Snape's face would have been what they were all feeling in a sense. They all knew what was going on to an extent, and yet none of them were going to bring it up in conversation because it simply wasn't done, especially whilst in public. Tom loved to mess with others out in the open and without getting into trouble. It was a skill he'd trained himself in while in the orphanage.

He gave a low, but lightly mocking bow and said, "I must be on my way. I have some more studying to see to. Thank you for your time, sirs."

When he finally saw Bella after the Easter hols, he was going to catch her up to date with all the new gossip. Before Bella, Tom wouldn't have cared to share personal experiences, but this time it was necessary! Besides, her reactions were some of the best in the world.

It was like Bella was slowly turning him into a real teenager. He still didn't feel any urges to do many of the things teens were known to do, but compared to his first chance at being a teen, this one was more natural and less stressful. His environment this time, wasn't embroiled in a war for starters. He didn't spend his summer days wondering if he was going to starve. And there wasn't some terrible, muggle woman telling him he was a Devil Child who needed to be 'cleansed of his filthy soul'.

Yes, it was much better this time around. For some reason he was certain that Bella was mostly the reason for that.

* * *

"Lily's not as smart as she thinks she is," said Remus reassuringly, reaching out to pat the arms of both of his goddaughters. "She may have graduated with high honours, but it's obvious that she's done nothing with that supposed intelligence of hers if this is the best she's managed to come up with."

Bella and Prue were seated in his and Sirius' rooms, sipping tea and snacking on treacle tart. Both had come by for the usual, weekly visit, and both had some new information that made him concerned. But he didn't want them to worry any further, so he was trying to keep a positive attitude in light of recent events.

Prue huffed. "She might never have been smart to begin with and was just good at memorising. Bella told me being able to memorise something doesn't make you a smart person. If you forget the information altogether, then what do you have left?"

Their egg donor had always been top of the year back in school, but had never been interested in gaining extra knowledge of the Magical World like Hermione Granger. Perhaps in the end, Lily was simply good at pretending. Most of her actions in recent years didn't scream of intelligence or even common sense. Though as Aaliyah would say, wizards apparently lacked any of it to begin with.

"Whatever it is, the Goblins should be able to answer any questions you have. We can schedule an appointment soon if you'd like one before the term ends," he suggested. "If not, there will be time during the summer."

Bella grabbed another tart, it was her fourth, and thumbed off the cream so she could eat it first like always. "Hermione was a big help. I have a whole list of things to ask thanks to her. She really picks apart the situation and gets right to the heart of things. She also thinks of things I usually don't consider so it's beneficial to get her opinion. She could be a lawyer if she wanted."

"I'd like to say Lily  _can't_  take the Gaunt Ladyship," Prue said slowly, "but the rules stated  _all_  living relatives of the endangered line have to give birth to at least three children before age sixty and they will be disowned if they can't. She was disowned for that reason according to the House rules, but now that reason's void and she's not sixty and can possibly have more children if she's actually pregnant. You know?"

Yes, it was quite the predicament. Remus couldn't fathom what had happened to make her fertile once more.

"And the father isn't a muggle so we've got nothing to go on from that angle," Bella grumped. "Not that such a rule is acceptable to begin with or course!"

A few moments of silence passed as they all considered the near future and just what they'd have to do about Lily and her interference. She didn't have custody of them any longer, which was a bonus, but if she managed to get back into the Gaunt family, that might be able to change as she was older and Bella wasn't seventeen yet. He wasn't sure though.

Bella shot up in her seat, a devious look on her face. "I'm not above doing so terrible shits to get what I want," was what she chose to say, haunting finality lacing her tone. "And I don't even need to use Dark Magic to do any of it either. There's enough Light Magic that can kill someone well enough."

Remus' jaw  _and_  stomach dropped at the implications behind her words. "Are- are yo- you can't be suggesting what I  _think_  you're suggesting!"

Prue winced, but nodded, a little guilty but overall unaffected by his horror. "She is. And I can't help but agree. If she just so happens to die not longer after having her baby, well there's nothing anyone can really do about it." Her words got a nod from her twin.

"Exactly," Bella agreed. "I didn't want to kill her the first time because I didn't find her that bad of a person and didn't want that on my conscience, so we just made her barren and left her to her miserable life as punishment. This time, she has pushed me too far and I don't give a shite whether she lives or not anymore. She'll have the kid and then she dies. And we'll be there if the kid wants anything to do with us in the end. Simple. No kid should be stuck with that thing as a biological parent."

Remus... wasn't sure he should tell Sirius about what he'd just learned about their goddaughters. But at the same time, keeping secrets from his husband wasn't in his nature. And knowing what his blood-adopted daughters were getting up to  _was_  imperative. It also wouldn't be fair to him.

Bella patted his forearm consolingly, her face somber. "Sorry you had to find out this way, Moony. I'm not some little angel and am very protective of those I deem to be mine. She was going to get her arse handed to her one way or another. It just seems that this way is the only way in which it can happen and we can all move on with our lives in peace."

* * *

The Wizengamot was alerted with haste the moment Alejandra Lewis was located and brought into custody. The set court date already proceeding ahead of time just to be safe, with the okay of the Chief Witch of course. The wand was confiscated, though its use seemed unimportant to the woman since a scan showed the last year's worth of spell usage and she used it only a couple times each month and not even for anything substantial.

Going such a long time without daily usage of spellwork, would mean her spellcasting wasn't up to par. According to her records from Hogwarts, she excelled in Astronomy, Herbology, Runes, and Potions. Classes that didn't require wand usage and were more inclined toward hands-on, practical application. Any magic she was using would be through those branches of magic and nothing else. Especially if she wanted to get away with using magic in a non-magical area without alerting the Ministry of her actions or location every time she did something.

Further exploration showed that Alejandra Lewis was a muggleborn who didn't want to come to Hogwarts. She had been an aspiring figure skater back in the eighties, but her mother went against her and her father's wishes, and sent her off to Hogwarts under the belief that skating wasn't a ladylike sport and magic would be more useful to her in the future.

When her mother died in '94, Lewis dropped out after completing her fifth year at Hogwarts and returned to her training, rejoining the figure skating community with only a few hiccoughs here and there, and climbing the ladder of fame within those five years. An injury that had to be tended to in a muggle hospital, resorted in her being unable to continue skating competitively and she had to retire, but she stayed connected to the sport and became a choreographer for a few years until she could become a coach eventually.

In those between years she married a muggle man and had her daughter, Sandra Lewis, who happened to be a Squib. She then made certain to get her daughter interested in only figure skating so that hopefully, she would pick up where Alejandra left off. Without Hogwarts getting in her way, she would be able to dedicate all of her time to the sport and would hopefully  _eventually_  come out on top.

When the child's father died when she was only nine, her training increased, no doubt because there wasn't a second parent there to interfere anymore. Amelia was looking into his death just to make certain that Alejandra had nothing to do with it. If the woman wanted to turn her own child into a Trophy Kid, she wouldn't put it past the woman to murder her own husband for standing in her way of that dream.

And now here they all were. The entire Wizengamot had just been appraised for the situation so all members would be on the same page when the trial began. Now they were awaiting the Aurors who were to escort Lewis up from the holding cells. From what she'd been told, the woman hadn't struggled in the least. She didn't fight. She didn't swear vengeance upon anyone. She merely asked for her lawyer, who happened to be a Squib, and then kept her mouth closed.

It was an interesting development. It showed that she didn't regret her actions. It showed she even felt them justified for some reason. Amelia wanted to get to the bottom of that reason. She wanted to know what could possibly make someone think using magical means to get ahead in the muggle world, was an okay thing to do. Why choose that side when the magical side was where the magic could be truly helpful? All the other happenings such as this had left her with lacklustre answers.

Alejandra Lewis was escorted into the room, the Wizengamot members falling into silence upon see her slightly haggard appearance. She'd been apprehended before she'd even gotten fully in the front door of her home, and her daughter was knocked unconscious and escorted to St. Mungo's for immediate treatment. The woman was shoved into a chair in the center of the room and four Aurors surrounded her defensively.

The gavel was slammed down to signify the beginning of the trial. The woman's lawyer was a man by the name of Jayden Priggleton, who was often the legal representation of muggleborns and Squibs only, since rarely would Pureblood choose to work with non-magical or non-pure people.

Amelia made sure to get through the standard opening of a trial so they could get on with the show. She wanted answers. This was less about a conviction and more about understanding in her mind. Why did people do these things? How did they prevent them from doing these doings in the future? It was a no-brainer that the woman would be in prison by the end of the day, but her explanation could determine the futures of a lot of people.

"Ms. Lewis, do you know why you are here?"

The woman looked up from below her fringe, her jaw set tight. "Yes, Madam Bones."

Some attitude in there, but she still chose to show respect to someone above her station, whether she wanted to or not.

"Can you please shed some light on  _why_  you would break one of our most important laws and put your own child in danger all for the sake of some sport?"

Alejandra stared her down. "It's a long story, would knowing everything  _really_  change anything at all?"

"Perhaps not," was Amelia's vague answer. "But it could at least help us understand. You might even get a lighter sentence out of it. If we declare what you say to be the truth that is. You'll have to know fully well your own reasoning and make us understand it."

The woman sighed and looked toward Priggleton. The two nodded to one another, and their attention shifted back to the Chief Witch.

"Tell me, Madam Bones, do you know that every time someone gets caught using their magic to get them ahead in the muggle world, it's always a muggleborn?" asked Alejandra almost conversationally, her arms folding as she took up a more comfortable position in her chair. As if she wasn't currently on trial for law-breaking and immoral behaviour.

"No, I did not," stated Amelia, making a mental note to keep that bit of information fresh in mind and to look into it at a later date. "Why is this relevant to the story?"

"Because I didn't want to be a witch. I had dreams and ambitions and Hogwarts would've gotten in the way my hard work. But that bitch that was my mother never liked skating and so she went behind my father's back and signed the agreement for me to attend and I was sent away. I didn't have friends. I was treated quite terribly by a majority of people. The Ravenclaws didn't like that I wasn't studious like them. The Purebloods didn't like my blood status. The teachers, sans Professor Slughorn, weren't helpful in the least because they're all blind and don't care about their students. I was miserable in Hogwarts."

The Wizengamot seemed baffled to hear these words. How could someone not like magic and Hogwarts, they might wonder? Still, if she wasn't being treated right in the school over ridiculous, bigoted reasons, then it made a lot of sense that she would want to escape.

"But then it kind of turned around in my Third Year, when I was invited to the Slug Club and ended up being the only muggleborn among the lot. Professor Slughorn told me to my face that I had potential in Potions. That one day I too could become a Potions Master if I worked hard enough. Potions came easy because it was like mixing Cooking and Chemistry, which were subjects I very much liked on the muggle side. Potions was my best class. And for a time I was divided because Potions became my life and sanctuary when I was stuck at Hogwarts, and skating became less important as the months passed me by."

So she had begun to feel more connected to her magical side, even if only a little. Enough to want to stay involved with magic and possibly give up her former goals.

"My mother died, and soon after I entered my fifth year. And it was during the Christmas hols that I was cornered in the room Slughorn had given me use of for additional brewing. A group of Purebloods, a mix of Ravenclaw and Slytherin students, decided to fully inform me of what was truly necessary for someone to obtain a Mastery in Potions. Did you know that being Apprenticed to a Master doesn't ensure you'll become one yourself? That you need substantial financial backing on your side, plus the support of five Purebloods from families on the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

She… did  _not_  know that. She'd never heard of that before.

Alejandra's stoic facade seemed to melt away under the weight of her past being brought up. Her emotionless facade was cracking down the middle. "I was given a list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families and the children currently attending Hogwarts. Most were all Sorted into Ravenclaw or Slytherin. And the students gladly informed me that they convinced their family members to not offer me any assistance should I come to them when it came time to apply for a Mastery. They believed that  _'people like me'_  weren't worthy of such titles, and then mocked my efforts and ruined all of my potions ingredients. And I dropped out of Hogwarts after obtaining my O.W.L.s and returned to my original plan for my future, because at least on the muggle side, I had better chances."

It was a very… believable story. In fact, Amelia knew many people who acted like that on the daily. Prejudice causing them to be intolerable arseholes to anyone they didn't believe to be on their level.

She looked toward the court scribe, Percival Weasley, a genius with glowing recommendations from all of his Hogwarts Professors, and asked, "Mr. Weasley, as someone who has memorised the Book of Offered Masteries of Magical Britain, can you confirm the expectations of Potions Masters in-the-making?"

The young redhead nodded solemnly, looking regretful. "It's in fine print on Pg. 114 right under Section XIII, sub-section C.  **'Understand that the Apprentice in question must hold the financial standards of one thousand Galleons necessary to take the examination, plus the written recommendations of five Magicals from families in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, in order to be considered eligible for a Potions Mastery.'**  Essentially, Madam Bones, you have to purchase the right to take the exam with one thousand Galleons, and then have five individual letters of recommendation from Pureblood-only family members. And even then, the Board might choose to not accept you, but they'll keep your gold anyway. It's very… hit or miss. And the board is predominantly made up of Purebloods from families who are on the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

That… seemed very unfair. Especially when most of the families on the Sacred Twenty-Eight, were bigots. It was as if things were set up to only benefit Purebloods in the end, and that wasn't right. And she wasn't shocked to find that such a thing was the case. So many flaws in their society had been brought up in the last few years and she was so very tired of them constantly being shoved in her face and reminding her that her community wasn't as grand as she had always believed it to be.

"Madam Bones, did you know that not one muggleborn holds a Mastery in Magical Britain?" asked Alejandra Lewis, drawing all attention once more. "Once Lily Evans was revealed to be a Pureblood, the slate was once again wiped clean, and her example tarnished. And furthermore, no muggleborn holds a position as the Head of a British Ministry Department. And no muggleborn has ever been made Minister for Magic in Britain. When someone comes to a muggleborn's home to pitch Hogwarts and magic to them, they are told that Hogwarts will lead them into better opportunities for their futures. But it turns out that everything is still geared toward Purebloods who spend all their time mocking us for not knowing certain information, and yet do nothing to help us  _obtain_  that information, despite having it and supposedly wanting us to know it as well.

"They gripe about muggleborns not trying to become a part of the community, but then don't actually extend a hand to help them do it. The Purebloods have all the information and they refuse to help anyone but themselves get anywhere, and now they're dying out and look at what's happening as they continue with their inbreeding. Less and less Purebloods are born by the year in Magical Britain. Eventually there won't be any left at all and where will all these unfair laws to benefit only Purebloods, land the rest of the impure lot?"

These ominous words brought forth more concerns, and Amelia had to make another note to herself. This time it was to acquire the entire transcripts of the trial because some things were going to have to be addressed at some point soon.

"So muggleborns find out they were lied to in order to be tricked into going to Hogwarts all to protect a community that doesn't even want them. And they do what the Purebloods want and leave after graduation and take their magical knowledge to the muggle world where they have better chances of making a good living for themselves and their families," stated Lewis succinctly. "But then we get caught using our magic to better our lives and the Purebloods who are all in charge of the government, get all offended by us using magic around muggles, when  _they_  are the ones encouraging us to leave and not darken their precious, pure world any further."

It now made perfect sense. And Amelia was ashamed because she was often witness to the slurs and insults of her fellows, but had many a time chosen not to get involved.

But even so… "That doesn't make what you were doing to your own daughter okay though," the older woman pointed out. "I agree that our society needs a drastic change, but it is illegal to use Felix Felicis in competitions, let alone on a fixed schedule like the doses found in your house revealed you had her on. Furthermore, you fed her the most potent love potion in existence. A minor. You fed a minor a love potion, Ms. Lewis."

Alejandra shrugged, which did  _not_  earn her any more of Amelia's favour.

"Her father died and she lost her interest in skating after training for six years already. And then Belladonna Potter appeared in the sport, attending the same minor competitions as my daughter. And her features and name were a very obvious indicator that the Potters weren't as innocent as many believed them to be. And with it being public knowledge that the Potter twins were Twice-Blessed, I felt it was unfair that this girl got to use her magical born abilities to benefit her in a muggle sport. I have done my absolute best to brew only the best for my daughter. Not just Felix Felicis and Amortentia, but anything necessary to get her above her fellows. She does what I say without question and is never in trouble. I see nothing wrong with that when I'm talented enough to tweak the potions to not be as potent or dangerous as they would be in their natural states. Enough for them to even be considered different potions altogether in some instances."

"The differences between Belladonna Potter and your daughter, Ms. Lewis, is the fact that Belladonna cannot control her abilities because she was born with them and magic bestowed them upon her. And if she doesn't try her best in the area of choice, she won't succeed. Period. You are an outside force influencing your non-magical daughter to be perfect in everything, and risking her health to do so."

Alejandra scoffed. "Her health is fine. Give it a year of strong detox and she'll be right as rain. She is not the most dangerous case to come out of excessive Liquid Luck dosing and she won't be the last to happen either. She'll be fine. I have all the skills of a Potion's Master without the pompous title bestowed by some cocksure tossers."

Despite the woman's history shedding an unpleasant light on Magical Britain as a whole, it did not excuse her actions. And she obviously felt no guilt over them. But at least they could understand now, why she did what she did. Why others did what they did. Why they felt it was their only option in the end.

Her sentence would most likely not be any lighter, but her trial did help shed and important light on certain topics that many tried to avoid because they would become uncomfortable in the face of their own faults and failures.

So maybe this was meant to happen in a sense.

* * *

"You know… while I don't condone the illegal things she did, she made some valid points," said Hermione that evening at dinner. After Rita Skeeter had released a very in depth recounting of Alejandra Lewis' trial, the entire school had been talking non-stop about it. Bella returned after her first run through the day, to find the story all over the paper, being talked about for various reasons.

Bella had to agree with Hermione's assessment. "I personally don't think there's anything wrong with using certain magic outside the Magical Community. Like, sure, no one should be using the Imperius or Compulsions on others because the implications are pretty effed up, but not being allowed to use certain potions or spells seems unfair. Especially if a good portion of the magical population are pushing these people away to begin with."

"This is something that I plan on addressing," Hermione stated, her notebook full of her little scribbles and notes. Her plate was left abandoned as she wrote down her thoughts. "She even pointed out that Magicals are dying out because of inbreeding.  _She_  noticed it even back then! And no one can deny that the Purebloods are literally dying out if a single couple can't even produce more than a single child even after being together for thirty years."

It was a good opportunity for people to be made aware of the pressing concerns going on in the community. And hopefully this would open up some doors for when Hermione started getting involved in politics.

Tom, who had formerly been busy with one of the science books Bella had gotten him on his birthday, looked up and said, "Several points were made. Even one I didn't consider. The Purebloods do indeed hold all the information and are judgmental of those who don't, yet most of them do not want to part with the information either. Hypocrisy isn't cute. They don't have a right to be offended if they aren't going to do anything to help solve the problems they claim to see."

Also a very good point to keep in mind. The Wizengamot was mostly made up of Purebloods, and they certainly needed someone to break down their privilege to their faces.

"I'm still hung up on the Potions Mastery bit," said Blaise from the other side of the Table. "I wasn't aware of the steep and unfair heights that are involving in attaining such a position. Makes me wonder how Professor Snape got it."

Bella snorted. "B-Man's former loyalties are still pretty public record to everybody. If the members of the board are Purebloods of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and those tend to be Ravenclaws and Slytherins, then there is no doubt that most of them had a family member who was a Voldy sympathiser, or follower, and they could have been pressured into accepting him or else. He's talented, sure, but he's a Halfblood who was muggle-raised and destitute. That's not a good place to start for anyone with high aspirations. And rumour has it that he is Malfoy's godfather, so having the Malfoys on his side would be enough to get him support from other Purebloods."

That got her a nod of consideration from Tom. "True. The Death Eaters having a Potions Master on their side would be very beneficial, since Dumbledore's side didn't have one at the time."

"Dumbledore's an Alchemist though, so would they have really needed a Potions Master anyway, since Alchemists need in depth knowledge of Potions to even get a Mastery in Alchemy?" Hermione pointed out.

"Point taken."

Bella beamed. Usually these topics would be boring as hell, but with a group of smart friends who all had observations of their own, conversations tended to be very interesting.

Theo was staring up at the Head Table, a contemplative look on his face. "Who's side is Snape-"

" _Professor_  Snape," corrected Hermione sternly.

"-Professor Snape on  _now_?" he wondered allowed, barely acknowledging the interruption beyond a minor correction.

Bella huffed. "For the time being… his own." Of course that might change soon enough if he took her warning into account months ago.

* * *

**Mione,**

**Bella told me about Sandra Lewis before the stuff went out into the world, and**  
**it had got me thinking about everything she must be going through, you know?**  
**A Squib, who didn't even know what she was or who she was related to, is now**  
**trapped in a hospital surrounded by people she does not know, for healing she**  
**probably doesn't understand. Detoxification for potion overdosing is a long and**  
**drawn out process depending on what needs to be cleared from the system. And**  
**she doesn't even have something familiar on her side to keep her calm or happy.**

 **So I was playing around with the idea of visiting her every week. Maybe bringing**  
**her letters from Bella and keeping her at least somewhat connected to the outside**  
**world. She has no living family that can come to visit her. She has no friends who**  
**could come to St. Mungo's to visit because muggles can only come in under few**  
**specific circumstances. Such as they'd been cursed and have to be cured by one**  
**of the specialists, or have family inside.**

 **I made the suggestion to my parents and after the trial happened and Skeeter's**  
**article came out, they agreed with my idea.**

 **The skating world has taken note of the disappearances of both Sandra and her**  
**mum, and things are getting out of hand. As punishment for what she did, the**  
**Ministry has put barely any effort into covering up their disappearance and the**  
**rumours are terrible. Not one is even remotely innocent or decent. And only one**  
**is suggesting drugging and PEDs.**

 **And people keep asking Bella on her Twitter or in her YouTube comment section**  
**if she knows what's going on, and she's had to lie repeatedly about it.**

 **I'm worried about what'll happen to Lewis once she's back to perfect health. I'm**  
**laying my doubts out now. No wizarding family is just going to adopt some Squib**  
**girl. But I don't know how the Ministry could dump her off at a muggle orphanage**  
**because she still has fame of a sort over here and her randomly appearing in one**  
**without her mother's whereabout being known, will cause issues.**

 **It's times like these where I wish the magical communities all around the world**  
**gave more of a damn about Squibs. This entire situation wouldn't be as stressful**  
**if they could simply pull their heads from their arses and possibly bother with the**  
**people of the own community who are magical-wielding Purebloods.**

**Disappointed, but not surprised.**

**Amara.**

* * *

Exam season was coming upon them far too quickly! However… Prue didn't have to take any of them! Probably the only good thing to come out of the TriWizard Tournament in her opinion was the fact that none of the Champions had to take any of their end of the year exams! And after having to spend more time concentrating on now getting hurt/dying in the Tournament, Prue honestly didn't have the time to dedicate to studying for additional work at present. She didn't want to be in the tourney and now she wasn't going to be forced to keep up with exams on the side.

A decent amount of payback in her opinion.

Also, the Welsh National Team had been scheduling more and more practices in preparation for August and the redo of the Quidditch World Cup Final. There was just less time for her to work through things and since her schedule wasn't stressful enough to warrant use of a Time-Turner like Bella's, she had to make do with the time she had.

She supposed that the only good thing about this situation was the fact that Krum was stuck in Britain, and while he had a broom with him for personal practice any time he wanted, he couldn't go back to Bulgaria to practice with his own team for the re-match.

International Apparition was something only the most powerful of Magicals could do, and Krum didn't fall into that line. International Portkeys were very expensive for people to purchase. International Flooing wasn't possible at all yet, according to the Ministry. Flying a broom over that much land would take days. He was essentially trapped on a massive island until the end of June and that meant less practice time for him, which was great since he was the biggest threat on his team.

And the Bulgarian National team hadn't come over to visit him in the least either. Maybe they thought they wouldn't have to include him in their practice. Maybe they were getting cocky. If that was the case, then Prue wanted to do her best to utterly destroy them in the game. The Welsh Team had been working extra hard to make up for any mistakes they'd made in the last one back in August. And there had been more than she'd like to admit publicly.

Prue was being trained to the bone in all of her Versatile positions because anything could happen in a game and they didn't want to take too long switching out players and giving the other team a chance to recuperate.

It was nice to be treated like an important member of the team, and not be coddled or put on a pedestal just because she was now the youngest and was famous. It was all due to her own skills on a broom and not her reputation as the Girl Who Lived. If she had proven herself incapable, she wouldn't be trained so harshly and they wouldn't be putting so much faith in her.

It was nice to be trusted.

* * *

"Hey, Tom! You got any clue what's gonna happen for the Third Task?"

As usual, Bella had come from nowhere to practically sit in his lap. She was  _almost_  sitting, but it would also be considered learning since all of her weight wasn't on him personally, and her feet were still on the Library's floor.

He sighed. He'd been planning to keep what he knew secret, but why not? It wasn't going to hurt anyone for Bella to know early. And they'd received no hints after the Second Task so it was only fair seeing as Karkaroff had no problem spouting information and there was no doubt in his mind that Maxime was exactly the same. So once again, those from Hogwarts were left out.

All he'd told Bella a while ago was that she was to remain by his side during the Task, and nothing more.

"Basically it's a race to who can get to the TriWizard Cup first. I don't know full details, but the first to grab it gets fifty points, the second gets forty-five points, the third gets forty points, the fourth gets thirty-five points, and the last gets thirty points. And then the one with the most points accumulated from all three Tasks wins. I'm not certain about additional details beyond dangerous creatures being added to give us a struggle though."

Bella hummed and, after most likely getting tired of standing so awkwardly, plopped down fully. On his lap. Her left shoulder didn't even reach his chin in such a position though. She was much shorter than him. "That sucks," she said sincerely. "I'm not one for races when danger is involved."

"You ran most of the time in the Second Task," he reminded her.

"Well  _yeah_ , but the dangers weren't that free to harm us. The dragon for example, was still chained up and couldn't really go anywhere. The last Task is no doubt going to be even harder and with even more dangerous creatures, so not just a dragon, an Acromantula, and a Sphinx. This means I need to get the damn Patronus down in case they bring in Lethifolds or find any more Dementors. They can't be native to Great Britain if they breed from the despair of humans. Meaning even if ours were sent to some other dimension, others must exist somewhere else in places filled with terror and sadness."

She had a point.

"And you need to try the spell too," she added.

"I don't think I shoul-"

"Nuh-uh, boyo, I firmly believe that you aren't evil so you won't get eaten alive by maggots if you attempted the spell. And you don't even  _believe_  in Good and Evil, so how can you be scared to try a spell that supposedly kills evil people when they attempt to use it?"

He felt short-footed by that. She'd pointed out a flaw in his own personal beliefs. One he hadn't even noted.

"Still, if we judge some of my actions based on the things I've done, in this life or the last one, can we truly say that by society's standards, I'm a good person?" he asked her, curious to hear what she had to say.

"Well you aren't anything that I'm against. Like, there's this whole list of things that I cannot condone and you don't check off any of them. Murder is murder. I'm less concerned by a murder just because a victim was there or rude or whatever, than I am about a murder committed because it was to be a hate crime. You know? My morals are a bit skewed of course, but that's how I see things. And you and I are very alike, Tom. If I can get a wall of white to come out of my wand even though I'm planning for Lily to be pushing daisies soon enough, you should be able to use the charm too."

She wrapped her hand around the back of his head, using it to bend his head down a bit so she could place a kiss on the crown of his head that sent his stomach fluttering madly. "Stop worrying and start having more faith in yourself, you twat."

* * *

**ROMANCE _in the_ AIR? **

Word around Hogwarts seems to agree that several high-profile couples have been  
popping up recently. Viktor Krum has been often seen in the company of Hermione  
Granger, who was his date to the Yule Ball back in December. The two are often in  
the Library or seen by the lake, just studying or talking to one another, though no  
one seems to have captured any part of their conversations.

Krum is from Durmstrang, a school that is known for its intolerance of muggleborns  
and barely tolerates Halfbloods. Granger is a muggle-raised Halfblood who happens  
to be the last of the Dagworth-Grangers, and is also related to the Smith family. She  
was born of two Squibs from either family. Until her Second Year of Hogwarts, it was  
believed that she was simply a studious muggleborn herself. Granger has firm beliefs  
that she does not hesitate to speak on, and still supports those who are muggleborn  
and muggle-raised. Yet Krum is endlessly fascinated by her, chose her for friendship,  
and even calls her, 'Hermy'. She has been heard fondly calling him, 'Vik'.

Prunella Potter has also been seen out with her Yule Ball date, Luna Lovegood, though  
often they are in a group with Belladonna Potter's known friends. Still, they have been  
spotted alone together in Hogsmeade, out on walks around the castle, and even in the  
school corridors, whispering to one another. It wouldn't be a reach or a surprise if they  
confirmed that they're in a relationship.

And finally, the last Yule Ball couple that seems to have come even further than their  
comrades! Belladonna Potter and Durmstrang Champion Tomas Night! Not only have  
they been photographed at the Black Lake together, they hae been seen in the Three  
Broomsticks together, been in the Library together, and oftentimes Potter is found to be  
wrapped around her companion in some manner. Photos show her in his lap and kissing  
him either on the head or the cheek. Night is often reserved in her presence, but even  
he will place a hand on her back to shield her from others, or take her hand now and  
then simply because he wants to.

"The two have great chemistry," says an anonymous source. "They get along so much  
better than two people from opposing schools should after only just meeting this year.  
I think they've been together for longer than this Tournament though. It's in how they  
look at each other and just meeting someone doesn't inspire that kind of expression."

Belladonna has been noted saying she's interested in both men and women, so if they  
are in fact not in a relationship and are just good friends, then all hope is not lost for a  
majority of the of age people out there who might be interested! I wish luck to anyone  
who may want to challenge the obviously possessive Night, for Potter's hand!

Here's to hoping the love springs eternal with these adorable (potential) couples!

 _Wanda Wiggins,_  
_Witch Weekly's Love Scout._

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Society continues to suffer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Writing Ch. 50. That'll be the end of Part 1. Ch. 51 will start Part 2. Pt. 2 might not be as long though. We'll see.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Just because you've gotten out of having to do the end of the year exams thanks to the tourney, doesn't mean you can slack off," Hermione said that morning at breakfast. "Next year is our O.W.L.s year and it will be the most important thing to our futures until N.E.W.T.s roll around. And after that will be obtaining Masteries. If we can even get them."

Bella sighed, but Hermione wasn't having it. She glared until her good friend deflated.

"I'm still doing my work, Mione. I've already started preparing for next term even. I got a Fifth Year Slytherin to give me a copy of their syllabus for fifth years and have already begun to work on some things. And Tom, the kind but secretive arsehole that he is, had already begun teaching us stuff ahead of time in our training sessions," explained Bella, aiming a grin in Night's direction.

The older teen didn't bother to grace her with a response, merely sipping his tea and reading the morning paper as he had already been doing.

Still, the revelation made Hermione gape. He'd been teaching them Transfiguration, Defence, and Charms because all three could be heavily applied in dueling and defending oneself if you knew what to do and had the proper control. And all of them were succeeding. Being capable of simply casting was good enough, perfect control could come later on with additional experience. The more they worked, the easier casting would become.

"Thank you, Tom," said Hermione, feeling grateful for his faith that they could handle doing work above their year.

He hummed, still ignoring Bella who had decided to cling to his arm in the time it took Hermione to fully grasp the situation for what it was.

And honestly, she wasn't all that jealous anymore when she saw Bella and Tom being so friendly. They just seemed to fit so well together that it seemed kind of criminal if they  _didn't_  get together.

That Witch Weekly article really put some things into perspective for her. Not  _everything_  in it was rubbish, judging by how close Luna and Prue were getting in recent months too.

She chanced a look at Blaise to see how he was handling it since he fancied Bella to. He wasn't even looking at them though. He was looking at her. Was that their thing? To check on the other the moment the source of their affections was besotted with another?

He didn't look heartbroken at least. Perhaps he was taking it just as well as Hermione was now. Bella hadn't exactly taken note of anyone's interest, and she didn't read Witch Weekly so she was still pretty unaware of the three of then fancying her. But her natural gravitation toward Tomas Night was enough of an answer for them.

She'd only just met him in person that year, and yet he was the one she would cling to in any situation. And she even took him to the muggle world to introduce him to new things for his birthday. That was a lot of effort for just a friend. More than she could ever put in for the rest of them.

Bella and Tom were going to become the ultimate power couple. It was foolish to ignore that obvious fact.

* * *

"It's been a while since you've been down here, right?" Bella asked as they sneaked into the girls' lavatory beneath her Invisibility Cloak.

Tom hummed. "I avoided going down this entire school year just to keep Dumbledore on his toes. I rarely even came to this floor just to be safe. I did some things reminiscent of my old self, just enough to unnerve him, but then adopted newer habits and attitudes to make him doubt himself. He's tried getting your Batman involved in stalking me and has failed spectacularly."

She snorted. "B-Man knows more than Dumbles does now. And Dumbles is not on the winning side in all of this, which should tell you Snape's feelings on the matter."

They both hissed at the sinks at the same time, and shared a smirk as one of the many entrances to the Chamber appeared.

"Prue and I cleaned everything out to make it more fun," Bella explained. "So it's just a big arse slide now with no chances of making my clothes nasty." She then jumped.

When she finally landed, it was nineteen seconds later and with an expectant expression. Tom appeared seconds after her, looking ruffled and trying to hide it. Of course that lead to Bella breaking down and cackling loud enough for the sound to echo around them through the varying, stone tunnels set up for the Basilisk to slither through. "I didn't think you'd actually do it!"

He got to his feet and cleaned himself off with a spell. "I don't see why we could not use the entrance in the Slytherin Common Room. Far more dignified that."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to go in that way. And I wanted to see if you'd actually slide with me." And he did!

He rolled his eyes, earning himself a playful elbow to the gut.

"Let's go talk to Alesandese. She misses you! You know a spell to summon rodents?"

"Yes. I  _have_  handled her before, I  _do_  know what to do."

"Meh.  _IhandlherbefoIknowhaddo_!" the girl sassed, words coming out rushed but slurred and deliberately mocking.

"I hate you."

"Fuck off, you love me."

Seeing a giant snake practically dogpile a teen boy was probably among the funniest things Bella had ever seen in her life. Especially since that teen boy was Tom. And watching the look of quiet but accepting suffering on Tom's face, get more and more sour as the minutes passed, made it even better!

"She wasn't like this before," he swore to her as he patted the great serpent's nose in order to calm her down. "I don't know what happened."

"Prue's been spoiling her." The kid had a soft spot for the snake and came by very often to spend time with her. Prue wasn't even the Slytherin Heiress and she got on better with Slytherin's own familiar. It was kind of hilarious in its own way.

* * *

_The ground was cold and unpleasant. She didn't like it. She didn't like that she had to be subjected to the elements. All she wanted was warmth and food._

_Her Master provided that. While cruel and cold to everyone else, he was kind to her. Damn near adoring even. She was the only being he truly liked and appreciated. Not even the mad harpy woman was capable of bringing forth such emotions in her Master._

_The graveyard was unappealing as always. Dark and dreary, and smelling of dead things. The grass barely grew in, but the muggles never tended to the grounds, so the whole place was left unkempt. Filthy muggles always incapable of doing the bare minimum to help their own world flourish._

_She could understand why her Master was so distrustful of them. She wouldn't trust them either._

_Her long body easily curved around the headstones, her slitted eyes taking in the details as she passed them. Marble for the wealthy, limestone and wood for the poor. And only the greatest came with statues to show just how wealthy the one beneath them had been in life._

_There had never been an interest in dead things in her opinion. Her tongue flicked out to scent the air, a shiver rolling down her scales in response. Death when accompanied by rot and that common, putrid odour, was never a pleasant thing. It put off her appetite and ruined her day. She always ate her meals quickly, to save herself from the experience. Live food was preferable._

_The house came into view. It rested atop a large hill with more than one floor to it because it used to belong to nobility of a sort. Nothing grandiose like royalty, but among the villagers in their little, huts and lodges, it was like a palace. It even had its own fireplace and chimney which many other houses in the village couldn't boast._

_Her Master's family once owned the building, so it was only right that it should fall into his ownership now, even if he personally never resided there._

_It was in disrepair, even though the old muggle she'd eaten had done his best to take care of it over the past several decades. She had many entrances that were naturally made, because of erosion._

_The hole was just big enough to fit her after a meal, and she slipped inside and up the rocks and wood along the way, sliding through the tight space with ease and coming out to the ground floor kitchen._

_Another second to scent the air told her that her Master was alone. The rat man and the mad woman were nowhere to be found, their scents dull and almost faded. A shame. She loved terrifying the rat man more than anything lately. He quivered deliciously._

_Once she reached her Master's room at the top of the staircase, she announced herself._

_§ **Master, I have returned.** §_

_§ **Good evening, Nagini.** §_

* * *

"Are you alright, Bella?" Tom asked, unable to get passed the look of confusion on his friend's face. Bella looked lost, and that was something that rarely ever happened to her. She was normally far too sure of herself to be lost in any fashion. Too outgoing to be without direction.

"I was just in bed, as you know. I had a weird dream that I was snake and I was slithering around this really decrepit graveyard at nighttime. And the snake's thoughts were very loud in my head, even though they weren't mine. She kept thinking about her 'Master' as she made her way up this large hill to a what was probably a fancy house many years ago, and inside she found Voldemort upstairs. He called her Nagini. And then the dream ended, but it felt very real."

Bella had told him about her dream last summer. About Voldemort being in a rickety, old house with Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., and Peter Pettigrew. And the snake Nagini.

"It probably wasn't a dream, dear Bella."

She frowned. "But every time I've ever dreamed from Voldy's POV, it was through  _his_  eyes. Why the snake? I don't have a soul connection to the snake. It makes no sense."

No she didn't. Not unless Voldemort made the snake a Horcrux in which the both of them would be connected to it in a sense.

His breathing stopped and his entire body ran cold. He  _wouldn't_.

The man was far too mad now. Shouldn't he know that more Horcruxes was a foolish idea? It would be like adding cold water to a grease fire!

" _Tom_?" Bella asked, shaking his shoulder a little. "What's wrong, Tom?"

"The snake must be a Horcrux," he said lowly, mindful of the fact that they were seated by the Black Lake and anyone could happen upon them at any time. He didn't want anyone getting any funny ideas based off of what they were talking about. Just because they weren't common knowledge, didn't mean people wouldn't try to research them and that could lead to so many problems. It was supposed to be private information for a reason.

Bella was gaping at him. "He can't be that stupid?" she said, though it came out more as a question. "The dude's gonna go even more crazy if he keeps this shite up. He's had to live inside a snake because he's too weak naturally."

"I honestly don't think he cares anymore."

Or maybe he finally realised just who Tom was and in a fit of panic, decided to create another Horcrux to ensure his own longevity? Tom couldn't really guess since he didn't know where the wizard was presently or what he was doing.

"You said you were in a graveyard outside a large house on a hill?"

"Mhm."

That sounded like Little Hangleton. Of course there could be many place like that all over the world so making assumptions wouldn't be the brightest of ideas. But wouldn't Voldemort wish to go somewhere at least familiar and that few would know about?

"She was thinking about the house belonging to his family and it being rightfully his even if he never lived there personally."

No, it  _was_  Little Hangleton. Voldemort was hiding out in the Riddle House of all places?

Because he knew no one alive would know where that was! Tom, as the Diary Horcrux, wouldn't actually know what that was on his own, but he'd absorbed the Locket and the Ring, and their memories as well. So he knew where to find the man. Not that Voldemort knew that.

But Tom didn't consider himself good enough to go up against Voldemort when he had two people and a deadly animal on his side. Barty might be on Tom's side now, but the other two would make it difficult to divide his attention and Lestrange was supposed to be Voldemort's best fighter. Not someone he should go up against when disadvantaged.

Tom would have to think about this very clearly and come up with a strategy. He'd be free come the summer. He was already working on finishing school a year early because he lacked the patience necessary to wait out an entire year away from Bella. It would be hell on earth and he refused to subjugate himself to it ever again.

"We'll figure this out, dear Bella. I promise."

Tom could always absorb the snake too if it came down to it. So long as he was able to do it safely and without risking anything of great importance to him.

Meaning: Bella.

* * *

"Hey, Granger!"

Hermione turned toward the Slytherin Seventh Year coming toward her, hand against her wand just in case. It had been some time since she'd been attacked, and she didn't really expect it to happen anymore, but one could never be too careful. The Slytherin in question had many Death Eater family members who died in the recent attack in Azkaban. Who knew what they personally believed.

He was much taller than her or even Tom, his hair darker and eyes a light shade of blue that didn't  _look_  cruel.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your project."

Intrigued, she turned to give him more of her attention, wanting to know what he had to say. "What do you need to know?"

"I just wanted to know if it's true that the reason muggleborns always leave is because Purebloods won't help them and keep pushing them away. My mum has been complaining about them  _'stealing knowledge of magic'_  for years just to take it back to the muggle world, but she never said they left because they were told they weren't wanted. Seems kind of pointless to complain about them not staying if you didn't want them to stay in the first place. I could never understand it."

Surprisingly it was a very solid thing to take note of. Hermione was impressed seeing as this person had to have come to these conclusions on their own, outside of their family's oppressive views. ANd they had to have given it some deep thought too.

"Many things factor into the decision to leave," she told him. "No respect, being lied to about their options, lack of resources, and lack of sympathy. If you were coming from their end and facing all of these things, would  _you_  want to stay where there are no benefits to you?"

A few seconds passed, before he shook his head. "But you suggested that there are no real muggleborns to begin with if each muggleborn has a Squib parent or grandparent. And according to Potter, Squibs have magic they can't use unlike us because it flow through  _our_  bodies and into our magical focus. Since they can't shift their magic at all, it can't be used. This would mean muggleborns don't exist in truth if magic doesn't randomly pop up in non-magical places, and Squibs aren't  _'technically muggles'_  born in magical families."

"Yes. Dozens of muggleborns have joined in on my research and have gotten Blood Tests at Gringotts and were all revealed to be Halfbloods at least, with Pureblood Squibs for parents and grandparents. This common theme is enough to give my theory traction. Magic does  _not_  appear in non-magical blood. And magic can't  _stop_  appearing in magical blood. According to Bella's observations, Squibs can brew Potions and use Runes because they don't need foci to work. And because of that belief, I have postulated the idea that an abundance in magic surrounding someone on all sides from birth, puts strain on their Core and makes it difficult for them to grow magically.

"I'm pretty powerful for someone raised on the muggle side despite having Pureblood Squibs as grandparents. I spent eleven years surrounded by no magic at all, yet many Purebloods who  _grew up_  in Ancestral homes with magical wards using their magic to power the protections around them since they were babies, such as Crabbe and Goyle, cannot perform even the simplest of spells now."

His eyes went wide at the implications.

"In essence, Squibs experience a birth defect as they are born without magical pathways to let them use their magic, which is worsened by Ancestral homes sucking out their magic. Just as those who inbreed too much are born with physical birth defects that are prevalent in their features and bodies."

It was a very unfair situation in a sense. They didn't ask for these problems, but traditions were always at the beginning of these things.

"These things are tradition," the older Slytherin said warily, proving her thoughts. "We've had them for so long and just dropping them wouldn't be... the best of times. But it's obvious some things should change in a way. I'm just not certain how a bunch of old fogeys can be convinced that such a change is for the betterment of our people."

She looked him directly in the eyes and firmly said, "Those old fogeys will not always be in charge, so changing the minds of those in our generation and maybe the one above ours, should be top priority. The old ones in charge will die out in the next fifty years."

It sounded callous to point it out, but it was the truth. She was already fumbling around with ideas to implement laws requiring those over a certain age - like 130 and up - to be tested to make certain they even understand what is going on around them if they wanted the right to vote in political matters. It didn't sound right that old people too far gone to understand anything, and so close to their graves, had the chance to continue ruining a society they wouldn't be around for much longer.

Hermione had many plans. This was merely one of them. And judging by this older Slytherin's interest in her work, she was getting closer to spreading her knowledge and beliefs around. And maybe he could spread his new line of thinking around to his comrades. And then word of mouth would do its job the right way.

If she could make this a regular occurrence, she'd have a steady support base before even leaving Hogwarts.

* * *

Bella blinked into awareness, feeling like she'd been sleeping until a few seconds ago. When she looked down she found herself completely clothed for the day and not dressed like a ragamuffin at least. She didn't remember getting up, or getting dressed, or coming back to the muggle world, or even what she'd had for breakfast, but if she was at the rink with Aaliyah and Deborah already, then she had to have eaten at the very least. She didn't  _feel_  hungry.

"You okay, kiddo?" her guardian asked

"I think I'm a little tired," she confessed, reaching up to rub at her eyes in hopes of that making it better. Make things make sense.

"Go splash your face with the fountain water. The chill will wake you right up."

She did so, deliberately applying the cold to her eyelids in hopes of that being a shock enough to wake her up fully and possibly remove any lingering puffiness.

Once her face was dry, she moved back to the benches to grab her boots. Something stuck out to her though when she pulled the second boot from the bag. A little, yellow thing at the very bottom, laying unassumingly as if it belonged there.

Upon closer inspection it was revealed to be a screwdriver. The one she often kept in her junk draw in her bedroom in case she needed it for anything. It was bright yellow so she could find it even without her glasses or contacts. And she didn't know why it was in her bag with her skates. She didn't remember putting it in the bag. Or needing it at all.

With a frown, the tool was set aside so she could put her skates on, sans the guards, and head out to the ice.

One step on the ice and the right blade wobbled under her weight, tipping her sideways and forcing her to turn her entire body around to avoid smashing her face off the ice. All that training on falling properly paid off. Though her elbows ended up injured in the process, the connection sharp and agitating.

"Bella!"

Aaliyah and Deborah were there immediately, both spouting off questions about her well being, while Bella just laid there and considered the fact that her blade had been loosened again. She would bet gold that if she looked down to assess the damage, she would find the screws loose again. And there was a screwdriver in her bag.

She doubted her guardians were behind it. You don't put this much time and effort into someone just to sabotage them. And she doubted someone broke into their house just so they could sabotage Bella's skates and not take any of her expensive possessions. It would be effin weird otherwise. She had some nice things that people could be envious of.

When she sat up, her attention instantly went to her right foot, crossing it over her leg to get a good look at the blade. As expected, the screws were loose.

"What the fuck?" Aaliyah said, summarising all of their feelings at once.

It might sound impossible, but Bella was pretty sure  _she'd_  been the one to sabotage her own skate. But why? And how come she didn't remember? And if this one was her, was the last time her as well?

* * *

**DARK LORD GELLERT GRINDELWALD DEAD _at_  132! **

The news comes to us a bit late here in Magical Britain, but it is completely true! The  
man who terrorised the European and American continents during the first half of the  
twentieth century, has indeed passed away after spending exactly 70 years in the very  
prison he'd personally erected for all of his opponents.

The preliminary examination states that old age was what finally took him. After more  
than half a century forced to live in confinement, away from all humanity save for his  
guards, he finally went to sleep and never awoke. Some of course still think he didn't  
pay enough for his crimes, having sat in a cold cell instead of actually working off his  
debts and mistakes.

Many believe Albus Dumbledore was far too lenient in regards to his punishment, and  
I think I may have uncovered the truth as to why.

According to an anonymous source, Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald knew  
each other far more than as simple acquaintances made in the summer of their youth.  
It's been suggested that there was far more between them than brotherly affections,  
and that Dumbledore was too emotionally compromised to see the man that he loved,  
murdered for his numerous crimes.

Yes! This would mean that Dumbledore was once in love with a Dark Lord! This goes  
beyond training with him in person on countless occasions like was suggested years  
back! And according to my very well-informed source, they had many plans for the  
magical communities of the world. Some of which outsiders did not agree with, and  
spoke up about.

And what should happen to drive once lovers apart? A duel that ended in the death  
of Albus Dumbledore's youngest sibling. A sibling that was not on any record I've  
searched through and was only mentioned by sources. A sibling who was rumoured  
to be a Squib at the time, according to another source who also is old enough to  
remember. But this child was hidden away for some reason and apparently died in  
the result of that unfortunate duel, and Albus Dumbledore decided to side against  
his former love.

But does that mean his beliefs truly changed? A dead sibling doesn't suddenly flip  
someone's decision to subjugate all of the muggles with their ex-lover. As we have  
seen, Dumbledore firmly believes in the idea of  _'the greater good above anything'_  
which was Grindelwald's personal slogan during his war. One that was etched into  
every community he conquered with the very deliberate misrepresentation of good  
intentions.

How interesting that the things Grindelwald wanted, slowly and steadily happened  
in Magical Britain. Those from the muggle side have no power in anything. Not in  
the government, not in the education, and they are more often than not forced to  
remain in the magical world without any benefits of it. Grindelwald wanted the two  
sides separate enough for the magical peoples of the world to rule. Frankly, in our  
community alone, where those of muggle decent have no control or say in anything  
that happens, it seems to have come to fruition at least in Magical Britain.

While our community seems to shrink by the year and we are greatly outnumbered  
by the muggles in our land, enough bad people gathered together could turn the  
tides of that easily. And the former Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme  
Mugwump of the I.C.W. did nothing in all the time he held those positions, to solve  
these growing problems. He remained idle and uninterested in using his positions  
for what they were meant for.

Methinks he simply didn't want to, because somewhere deep down he still agreed  
with his former lover. He Who Must Not Be Named wanted to slaughter all muggles,  
Grindelwald simply found them to be only for a specific use, and wished for them to  
be kept aside until they were necessary. As Dumbledore doesn't condone murder, it  
is obvious he wouldn't find too much fault in Grindelwald's ideas.

So has this all been some elaborate scheme to get his beloved's goals aligned for our  
community? Is Dumbledore truly as kind and Light as he appears to be? Can we trust  
him, especially with his lacklustre actions in most recent years? Should he perhaps be  
evaluated for a spike in his well-documented madness?

Let us know your thoughts!

_Garrison Bespoke,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

"It's the last Hogsmeade Weekend before the exams and while I don't have to participate, the rest of you have to so there will be little time for hanging out after this until the Third Task. So we need to go to Hogsmeade now because it's the second to last chance of the year!" Bella explained, shoving a bowl of oatmeal under Hermione's nose so she could eat while reading up on the backwards arse laws of Magical Britain.

Theo hummed. "I've been thinking of getting a bunch of Sugar Quills. I have a sweet tooth but too much chocolate makes me violently ill. So I have to deal with other sweets."

The look of pity on Bella's face made him roll his eyes. She was so dramatic and her love for chocolate was ridiculous. It made a good running gag though.

" _I_  need some  _real_  quills," said Blaise as he held up the one he was currently using to finish his late assignment that he'd put off for too long. It was very small, no longer than the length of his hand. "I've made this last three months but it's practically dead."

"And you've been chewing on the feather," observed Neville, pointing to the slightly masticated end of the quill and getting an elbow to the gut in response. Neville merely laughed though. "Sugar Quills should be more up your alley in that case, mate."

"Well, seeing as it's no longer connected to a living being and you've basically chewed it to destruction, it has been dead for a while," Bella added, an amused grin on her face.

"Har-dy-har har."

"Is Tom going to come with us?" Neville asked Bella.

She shrugged. "His exams are a bit earlier than our own but he's taking this time to actually study for his N.E.W.T.s so he will be a lot busier than any of us are."

Hermione's head snapped up. "He wants to graduate early?"

"Yep! Says he can't tolerate the people in his school any longer and has major plans to set into motion. So he's going to pass his fancy exams, win the tourney, and use the sudden influx of attention from the victory, to get him a good Ministerial position here."

It could never be said that Tomas Night did not think ahead. That was probably why he wanted to be in the tournament to begin with. The novelty of a new Champion would be news for quite some time. And if he managed to keep positive attention for long enough, he would end up with huge success in a very small amount of time.

"Night is so much like you that it's scary sometimes," said Blaise. "All these goals that he wants to meet right now and charging through them without any hesitation."

Bella shrugged once more. "Unlike Tommy boy, I actually  _need_  to meet my goals early because a thirty-four year old Competitive Ladies Skater would be very suspicious so I only have until maybe age thirty to keep this up without drawing too much attention to the unnaturalness of it. Tom has like a century to do this, but he wants things fixed ASAP."

True. Bella would live longer than muggles tended to, so she would naturally age slower than them and at age fifty she would still be as spry as her twenty year old self. But the muggles wouldn't understand that and might get suspicious. It always involved properly managing time and energy. And her growing fame at her own pace.

Bella and her guardians had planned this all out ages ago and knew what they were doing. It was impressive.

Compared to Bella, Theo didn't really have any plans for  _his_  future. His grandfather was dead and was no longer a pestilence. That meant he could do whatever he wanted. Politics. Healing. Something else if it struck his fancy. No being a Death Eater in his future.

Still, just because things were going well for Theo, didn't mean they were the same for  _all_  of his friends. Neville was still held back by his incredibly annoying family members. None of his friends knew how to solve the problem either. Seventeen people stood in between him and the Lordship at present and even if one person was killed, another would come up and ruin everything. And killing that many people would look suspicious as Bella had stated ages ago.

Theo was at a loss on that to do. He didn't want Neville to be unhappy, but he didn't know what he could do. His surname wasn't beneficial in this situation. Especially with how hateful Augusta Longbottom was.

* * *

Aaliyah, in the interest of common decency and the fact that she knew some fucked up shite of a sort was happening, felt compelled to join the Singhs as they took their daughter to St. Mungo's to visit Sandra Lewis for the second time.

As of late, she'd been having many thoughts. It had been legal for same sex couples to adopt in England for over a decade. But adoption was a very serious situation. Aaliyah had already adopted Bella, and since she'd essentially had no records on the non-magical side, it was easy in a sense, to obtain adoption rights.

But Sandra Lewis was a Squib who was raised non-magical and was unaware of magic until most recently. She had a record on the non-magical side, but had been taken away by the magical side, and her records on the non-magical side were now in shambles because wizards were fucking stupid and didn't know how to handle Muggle to Magical situations very well.

So there was a lot of gossip and slander going on about the Lewis family after their disappearance. Law enforcement had been magic-whammied somehow and didn't have much to say on the matter. And no one knew what to do or say.

Also, as the child in question was recovering from essentially a forced temperament, what was she like normally? How did she think about the world around her? What opinions would she form on her own? Could she actually function on her own? How long was she being forced to be someone she wasn't?

Would she want to continue figure skating? Would she even want to be adopted?

Deborah had been very understanding of Aaliyah's concerns on the matter. She was collected in a way Aaliyah often forgot to be. She was quick to aggravation whenever she saw something personally deemed stupid, and would simply react accordingly. Debs was more quiet and soft-spoken about everything.

And she brought forth her own observations about the situation. Were they financially stable enough to provide for another teenager? Bella had a godfather who was wealthy out the arse, plus her own account she insisted on using to fund her own career and interests. They wanted for nothing presently.

But they didn't have an extra bedroom. Not even a storage room that could be converted into a bedroom. Meaning a new home entirely would be necessary. Teenagers liked to have their own space and while Bella would probably share her room without a vocal complaint, it would still be awkward for her as she'd yet to totally warm up to Sandra just yet.

And if the Michaels family didn't take in the girl, where would she go? Wizards were bloody morons. She wouldn't doubt for a second, the chances of them just dumping her somewhere and not caring since, according to Bella, they all believed Squibs had no magic and were therefore not useful to their community.

All this offence taken in the papers over a child being force fed an illegal potion or some shite, would die down once they all truly understood that she was a Squib. Sad but true.

Would the kid even want to be adopted? Would she even get a choice in what happens to her in the first place?

These were all very serious questions and concerns that they couldn't overlook.

Furthermore, how would Bella feel about where her thoughts were going? She was just as much a member of the household as them and it was only fair to include her in these decisions.

She supposed this meeting would help her decide just what to do. As if seeing Sandra in person would make the decision easier.

Getting entrance into her hospital room was a bit more of a struggle of course, but as there was no real reason to bar them from going in, they still got in.

The girl was in a bed modeled after what would be used in a common hospital, but maybe with a few more embellishments on the framework to make it obviously magical in make. They sure loved their wonky designs.

The very first thing she took note of was how moist the girl's face was. She was sweating profusely and her wrists were tied to the bars on either side of her bed to keep her in place. She looked alert though, and noticed immediately when they entered.

This was Amara's second visit to the girl, so her appearing wouldn't frighten her. However she wouldn't have expected to see Aaliyah.

"Mrs.  _Michaels_?"

Gone was the bubbly, happiness she'd associated the girl with. Instead was a very, quiet but still slightly sassy youth who looked like she was unsure of how to act.

"Hey, kid. I'd say we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

She looked between the Singhs and Aaliyah, before nodding slowly. "I guess so."

* * *

**INEQUALITY _in the_  MINISTRY? **

Due to most recent events in our community, several facets of our way of life have  
been brought into the light. Things some of us would have never bothered to think  
about, because we would never find ourselves on the side without the privilege no  
matter what happened in our lives. And I must admit to being one of those people  
and being uncomfortable with these realisations.

As a Pureblood, I rarely ever thought about not having job options. My family is in  
no way an Ancient House, but it is at least Noble, and still Pureblooded to this day.  
I was always certain from day one that I would be able to get any job I wanted as  
long as I put in the work in school to get me on the right path. It never occurred to  
me that others may not have the same chances as me. I figured everyone was the  
same and that some just  _chose_  to do nothing, and left it at that.

Yet that opposite has become glaringly obvious now that I have looked even further  
into the most shady decisions made in our histories. A common theme seems to be  
those of 'pure' blood shunning those who do not reach their expected level of purity.  
This includes passing numerous laws and regulations to make it impossible for those  
who are Halfblood, Muggleborn, or Squib, to obtain rights and freedoms they would  
otherwise have naturally in other magical communities outside our own.

I remembered recently that a friend I had made in school, left our community, and  
instead decided to go back to his muggle family and remain with them. When I was  
younger that had made me feel abandoned and I refused to give him the chance to  
explain why he went. He'd been on his way to a very bright future as an Auror and  
would have no doubt risen through the Department if given the chance. Might have  
even become Head Auror one day. But instead he just left it all behind and all that  
time and effort he'd put in during school was rendered useless.

The Head Auror at the time, was Günther Rowle and I'm certain you all know where  
this is going. Half a dozen of Rowle's family members were convicted Death Eaters,  
while another half dozen were caught but managed to get off their charges because  
of particular bribes given to the former British Minister Cornelius Fudge. It is not so  
difficult to put all the pieces together. A Pureblood Supremacist turned away a very  
promising young man because of his bigotry. Who knows how many other potential  
Aurors he turned away out of his deep-seated, and backwards hatred. Who knows  
how long he was impairing our forces of protection.

And this is the case in every Department, save for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts  
Office, but as Head Arthur Weasley is from a family that is known to be  _'traitors to_  
_the blood'_  and is personally fascinated by muggles, of course he'd accept anyone  
no matter their blood or the circumstances of their birth.

But this realisation had me looking into even more of our histories to see just how  
much the Purebloods in charge, have ruined our society. Or at the very least sent  
us back instead of forward.

Thanks to the personal observations of Hogwarts student Hermione Granger, who  
has been a scintillating research partner, it has been brought to my attention that  
the common attendance number for Hogwarts has dropped severely over the past  
two hundred years.

In this period of time, Purebloods have begun to have less and less children. They  
are barely managing to have one at all in a span of twenty years, and muggleborns  
were recorded as leaving the community after their graduation upon insistence from  
Purebloods and being turned away when attempting to acquire jobs. However 71%  
of these muggleborns didn't just leave Magical Britain behind, they left Britain as a  
whole, and traveled to other magical communities with far less restrictions placed on  
non-Purebloods. Essentially, any magical children they have will then be registered to  
magical school's overseas and they will then help populate those other communities.

So Hogwarts, which used to boast an attendance of at least one thousand students  
at any given time, has lost many of those students over the past two centuries. Less  
than seven hundred and fifty students are attending Hogwarts at present. The entire  
community is no longer figuring six digits. We've sunken to five digits in population.  
And 50% of that population are over the age of 90, and that half have only managed  
to produce about 10% of the current student population of Hogwarts.

Then 35% of our total population, which rests between the ages of 50 and 89, have  
produced about 5% of the Hogwarts students currently in attendance. After this we  
have 14.3% of our total population being between the ages of 18-49 and they have  
contributed to 1% of the Hogwarts student population.

The remaining 0.7% of our community's total population, is the Hogwarts student  
population, coming in at 630 students. They have obviously not contributed to the  
student population yet beyond being in it presently.

But the numbers are concerning when we consult records from two hundred years  
ago, that show a very thriving populace both in our community and in our school.  
And yet the maths don't lie. Purebloods have the control even though they are only  
38% of our community now, and only 31% of the Hogwarts student population can  
be called 'pure'.

Chief Witch Amelia Bones has made a few comments about abolishing some of the  
laws around these topics immediately, and the British Wizengamot, predominantly  
Pureblood-controlled, is in an uproar.

And these concerns make sense. Why does a group with the least amount of people,  
get to so tightly control the lives of everyone else when all they have done is set us  
back and their numbers are dwindling?

What should be done about this?

_Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

The amount of students that had come to him in the last week alone, was almost too high to count. He'd given up keeping track of them after his office hours were completely used up three days in a row. Recent events had sent many students to his door, their concerns so strong they eclipsed their unease when being around him.

And why did students who weren't even in his House, call upon him at all hours of the afternoon? Because of what happened with Belladonna Potter's Squib friend and her law-breaking mother.

Students who had been working toward goals for their futures had been made uncomfortably aware of the fact that they might not be able to enter the profession of their dreams if they did not have the backing of a certain amount of people from families in the sacred Twenty-Eight.

So far he'd had to educate himself on all the other Masteries offered in Magical Britain, so he could better assist the students who needed help. As the Deputy Headmaster, it was his job to know these things.

Distantly he'd always been made aware of how unfair things were. As a Halfblood treated like rubbish because of a mother who decided to marry down, to a muggle of all people, he was uncomfortably aware of his position in life. Slytherin had not been a pleasant place during his school years because Voldemort was trying to recruit early.

Or not  _early_  in essence, he never took anyone underage. That had always been a strict rule of his. But he did have confirmed future Death Eaters scouting for potential followers once they were of age, and those scouts were known to harass people all the time with their ideals and beliefs. Getting that from nearly every angle, and then Albus being a poor Headmaster on the only free side he had, had left him disconnected in school.

He'd wanted to go into DADA, but Lucius had pushed his Potions talents more and more and sponsorship for a Mastery in Potions was preferred over one in Defence. The Dark Lord hadn't needed tutors among his ranks as he was capable enough of teaching anyone anything he wished for them to learn. A Potions Master however, was something people rarely had the discipline to manage, and Severus was recreating potions with far better methods for fun by age fourteen.

The Dark Lord could have made his own potions as he had the skills of a Master, but he was needed elsewhere, so he wanted to put Severus to work instead.

He didn't pay attention to the other Masteries at the time because he was so focused on making something of himself and escaping the horrible upbringing he'd come from. He'd been very single-minded, and his tunnel vision had been powerful.

But now he knew, and he was disappointed, but not surprised. He was rarely surprised these days.

The steep requirements to obtain a Potions Mastery were basically the same in every other British-offered Mastery. Each country had different expectations and handled their own Mastery granting in their special ways, but in  _their_  community, it as very backwards and unfair.

The facts were that twenty-two of the families in the sacred twenty-Eight were prejudiced against muggles and those coming from that world. And only fifteen of those families were predominantly sorted into Slytherin. The remaining seven families were spread between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. That left six Pureblood families capable of granting the necessary recommendations, but that didn't mean the members would  _want_  to sponsor someone. There was more involved that simply writing a letter.

Just because they didn't hate muggles or Squibs, didn't mean they were accepting of every muggleborn they saw or heard about. It was a very touchy subject, bigotry. Just because you weren't bigoted in one way, didn't mean you weren't a bigot in another way.

Dozens of students had just gotten their hearts and dreams crushed upon realisation of what was ahead of them and how they would most likely not get a chance to succeed in the magical community if they remained in Britain.

Severus was often known for being rather callous, but even he could only handle the heartbroken cries of children who had been lead astray with Minerva's pretty words, so many times before he too began feeling down.

These things needed to be fixed.

From the general talk around the Slytherin Common Room in recent days, Hermione Granger had many plans that her friends whole-heartedly supported. She and Potter were working in tandem with their plots for the future. But it would be at least a decade before either could really make a difference in anything. Those new to politics weren't often regarded as knowledgeable or competent. Their youth tended to make them targets of the more experienced.

Even if both girls managed to obtain Ministerial positions upon graduation, the hill was steep.

Then again, Tomas Night seemed to have plans of his own and perhaps his quick-thinking and go-to attitude would take care of things a lot faster. He had a terrifying realness about him and a drive to get things done no matter the cost. He'd be in politics for three years by the time Granger joined him with her ideas that he was no doubt aware of if he was always spending time with Potter's group.

Voldemort needed to be taken out as soon as possible. Him and the rest of the people who catered to him and spouted beliefs he allowed them to spew.

Severus had made an Unbreakable Vow to Albus Dumbledore years ago, to aid in the destruction of Voldemort. Thankfully, the Vow never said anything about Albus being the only person seeking his destruction. And because Albus no longer had any true sway in their community, Severus was not beholden to him at all and could essentially, help another take out the Dark Lord.

That realisation had been liberating.

Shutting down the beliefs of the Death Eaters and their Master was the most important thing and the only way to purge those thoughts entirely, was through death and example.

Something was coming. He didn't know if it could be called war, but he knew it would be hell either way.

* * *

"Beware the wilting flower."

It was the first thing Bella heard that morning after she did her time-traveling back twelve hours, and then again after that time so she could make what was left of her classes at the end of the term.

On her first run through the day, she was awake before everyone else in the dorm, so she never spoke with anyone. And on her second run through the day, she was seeing behind spelled curtains well into the afternoon to catch up on sleep. So by her third time where she was fresh and aware with everyone else to full begin the school day, she was just catching up with everyone.

And everywhere she turned, students were muttering  _'beware the wilting flower'_  left, right, and center.

At breakfast, Blaise finally took pity on her and revealed, "Draco's turned fifteen today. His family has formally announced his engagement to Astoria Greengrass."

It took a few seconds for her to grasp it entirely, knowing this had been mentioned before but she wasn't as involved back then and didn't care too much. "She's twelve," Bella felt compelled to point out.

Hermione was sneering through her own discomfort at the situation. "They're both under the age of consent for muggles in England. On this side of the divide AOC is a bit different. Thirteen is the AOC here, but anyone over the age of fifteen cannot have penetrative sexual intercourse with someone under the age of fifteen, which includes vaginal, oral, and anal penetration with fingers, tongue, or penis. Laws get murkier from then on. According to law she'd have to be seventeen before... you know... can occur. Adults and minors still aren't allowed to...  _mingle_  in that manner no matter the AOC."

Well that was more than Bella ever wanted to know about the birds and the bees. Magical Britain was even more lax than Aaliyah was when it came to sex. Interesting.

Did thirteen year olds really spend their days wanting to get it on? She couldn't really see it as a thing. Or perhaps it was because she was technically sixteen and hadn't felt a lick of sexual desire before. At least, since she was a newb to it, she was  _sure_  she hadn't. Even if she found all kinds of people to be attractive and was open to the thought of dating anyone so long as they weren't a dick, she still didn't feel inclined to sex.

"I cannot believe this is the discussion you're having at the breakfast table," said Tom as he finally joined them, his satchel filled to bursting with books of all sorts for studying purposes.

Instantly, Hermione's face went red and she buried her own head in a book to avoid any additional attention. Bella simply laughed. "It's among friends, it's all fine. Even Neville's okay with it."

Said boy rolled his eyes and continued rolling a red-filled Remembrall between his hands as he tried desperately to remember what he'd forgotten.

" _Anyway_ ," said Blaise, regaining their attention, "We've formerly established Pansy refusing to acknowledge what was so obviously in front of her and the official announcement went through the Common Room this morning, right before it appeared in the paper today. Pansy has disappeared, but it was noted that tears were pouring down her face as she went and she was shaking."

Bella wanted nothing more than to ignore it. She and Pansy just didn't get on and she doubted they ever would. On some level she even felt this was kind of deserved. But then... she considered the girl's family and the people she is stuck with who raised her. And then she considered those available to such a family considering their standards. No one outside of Slytherin because that was how Death Eater families worked.

And there were so few who weren't promised to others already in Slytherin. Which meant she would most likely be affianced to someone already out of Hogwarts. And considering the limited number of people fitting into the Gen Z and Millennial grouping in their society, the person she might get stuck with, would be at least fifty already if not older.

Basically being sold off. In a sense, Malfoy would have been the best choice for her because he wasn't an arsehole. And now that choice was gone.

She could understand to an extent why the girl would be so heartbroken at these prospects.

Resolved, Bella departed form the table to ask Prue for some help. Her twin noticed her the moment she passed the halfway point of the Hall and things got a bit quieter since Bella rarely ever went to the Gryffindor Table. Prue usually came to the Slytherin Table.

"Can I borrow you for a second?"

The ginger nodded and patted Ronald's arm to calm him down before coming to join her out in the Entrance Hall. "You got the Map on you?"

Prue pulled the Map out instantly and mumbled the password. "Who're you looking for?"

A full-body sigh. "Parkinson."

It took a few minutes, but eventually she was revealed to be hiding in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She'd no doubt continued to cry out her frustrations, and Myrtle had probably joined her in her suffering. Miserable but with company.

"Thanks. I'm gonna tell Davis and Greengrass where to find her. She's having a shite day."

"You're too nice sometimes. She's a bully. I wouldn't help her."

Bella snorted, feeling like she wasn't as nice as Prue seemed to believe. Sometimes she could be incredibly nasty and mean-spirited. This was an act of pity and nothing more. Parkinson was still a bully and a twat as Prue had noted.

Once the information was passed along and the two girls left to go and retrieve their friend who certainly should not be alone in her grief, Bella returned to her own friends. Tom was smiling fondly at her, and she felt a blush warming her face in response, which wasn't a usual physical response from Bella. But she really liked the look in his eyes.

"Dear Bella, sometimes I cannot help but be amazed by you."

Why did that give her butterflies in the tummy?

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

**How was it? Let me know!**

**Check out my many other fics!**

**See ya! :D**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To the Third Task!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!
> 
> -THERE'LL BE A BREAK BETWEEN THIS CHAPTER, AND CH. 51! CH.51'LL  
> BEGIN PART II OF THE FIC AND I AM GOING TO NEED TIME TO PREPARE  
> FOR IT. MY HOUSE IS FINALLY GETTING FIXED UP, BUT I AM NEEDED TO  
> HELP OUT. I'VE HAD TO CLEAN AND DO HEAVY-LIFTING ALL WEEK, AND  
> THAT HAS GIVEN ME LIMITED TIME TO WRITE OR EVEN EDIT.
> 
> CH, 51 IS LIKE ONE PARAGRAPH IN AND THE HOUSEWORK WON'T BE  
> FINISHED FOR A WHILE. I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE. MY BODY  
> HURTS EVERYWHERE FROM HOURS OF NONSTOP WORK AND I HATE IT!  
> THIS CRAP SHOULD'VE BEEN DONE BY THE TIME WE MOVED IN OVER  
> A YEAR AGO, BUT I SUPPOSE I SHOULD BE GLAD IT'S GETTING DONE  
> AT ALL.
> 
> SO TO REPEAT, THERE WILL BE A BREAK BEFORE I START POSTING THE  
> NEXT PART OF THE STORY. THERE WILL BE NO UPDATE ON FRIDAY, MAR  
> 29TH 2019. IF I CHANGE MY MIND, YOU'LL OBVIOUSLY KNOW. THERE  
> MAY NOT BE AN UPDATE ON APRIL 5TH 2019 EITHER. NOT UNTIL I  
> FINALLY GET BACK SOME TIME TO WRITE. I PLAN TO KEEP THE FRIDAY  
> SCHEDULE WHEN IT STARTS BACK UP THOUGH. SORRY FOR THIS.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

"Come summer, I've decided I want to sign up for classes in this," said Bella as she handed Aaliyah her laptop. The tab was opened to YouTube where a video was on pause, waiting to be played. This was a normal thing Aaliyah had come to expect. Bella appearing and shoving something in her face for her to see.

"I've been sucked down a hole of watching these nonstop for like an hour and I want to add this to my training. It could be so cool if I could do anything in this video by the end of the summer."

Aaliyah had never heard of Georgian Dance before. And it looked very… dangerous. Aggressive. But also strangely graceful in a way.

"Are you sure that you want this? This is far more difficult than anything you'd ever done before."

Bella was nodding insistently. "And that's why it would be awesome! I could learn a lot, and if I wipe out, I know I won't remain injured for too long since I heal so quickly. Besides, I want something awesome to help pass the time as I wait to join the senior Division. Waiting is killing me when I know I'm ready but I'm just not old enough. I can do two Quad Jumps now but am still stuck as a Junior."

She had a point, but Aaliyah still maintained her worry as she watched the dancers/fighters move through their choreography with swift feet and sharp timing. It was fortuitous that Bella had already taken classes in the Quickstep, Tap, and Irish Step. The speed of the feet was something that would carry over from those classes to these ones if she managed to get into some.

"Kiddo, your knees are going to suffer from this." Aaliyah's own knees were hurting just by watching the video.

Bella shrugged. "It'll be worth it. Besides, do you see how awesome they are! I wanna choreograph a Short Program to this kind of music! Maybe we could incorporate some of these moves into a routine?"

If that was the aim, Aaliyah would have to personally watch the practice to get a better feel of what was being taught. Hard to choreograph if you don't know what you're doing.

"Now let me show you the ladies. They seem to have different parts, but I want to learn both just in case because it would be awesome."

Bella flicked around a bit so a new video could play, and Aaliyah nodded. She could envision a lot more possible with this. Very quick and graceful. The arm movements would be nice to replicate on the ice. "Have you shown Debs yet?"

"Nah. I didn't want to get any hopes up in case you were like giving me a hard no to this."

"Well we'll have to do some research and see if there are any offered classes in London. Don't get too excited just yet. If there aren't any, we'll have to look outside the city and the distance could be a problem to deal with in the long run," she warned. London was a major city that had many things to offer, but assuming you could find everything was foolish.

However, luck seemed to be on Bella's side as they found several studios offering the class in the coming summer, and one of them was specifically ran by a Georgian couple.

So Bella would be learning… come summer.

* * *

** MINISTERIAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES?!  **

Dear readers, recently it has become a common thing to see Department Heads  
going into the Minister's office and coming out yelling. Minister Pyrites, as you're  
all aware, has some very senseless plans for the future of our community. He has  
spent the entire time he's been in office, attacking anyone and everyone who has  
so much as disagreed with anything he has said.

He has even attempted to pay off The Daily Prophet into becoming his personal  
mouthpiece, but we at the Prophet do possess some form of a moral code, and he  
was turned away. He of course didn't appreciate that in the least, and threatens  
to take away our jobs as I write this. He's also threatened to deport any Hogwarts  
students who were not born in our community.

I have checked the laws of our great society many times, and he does not have  
the power to do this, but he is fully aware of that fact. He's chosen, instead, to  
attack their families by calling in the Ministry Heads and threatening them to fire  
people of his choosing, with no legitimate reasons given as to why.

I personally witnessed him telling Arthur Weasley to fire Manesh Patil otherwise  
he would de-fund the entire Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. Lord Patil's family  
hails from India, and they moved here nearly fifteen years ago. Since, they have  
been upstanding members of our society. Yet because Lord Patil would even dare  
question the Minister's desire to remove Slytherin House from Hogwarts, he has  
being attacked.

How such a childish individual even managed to make it to the position of Minister  
for Magic, baffles me, dear readers. I don not know what I could possibly say to  
make people realise that he's a problem. He's threatened the livelihood of anyone  
he can, not just Slytherin-Sorted wizards. He has threatened the Smith family as  
well. How long will this injustice continue before someone takes action?

What will he do next? He's gone after people in his own political alignment. If he  
would attack even his own comrades for pointing out his faults, then nobody is  
safe from his little tirades. Eventually it will get even worse, and by that time, it  
could end up ruining our international relations. Deporting people simply because  
he didn't get his way will not look good in the eyes of the world. It's as if he wants  
us to remain divided.

With much concern for the future of our people and the lack of empathy being  
shown on the daily,

 _Rita Skeeter,_  
_Special Correspondent to The Daily Prophet._

* * *

"I've been contemplating getting a haircut."

Tom's eyes went wide as he cut a look to his younger friend, and the long plait hanging behind her. It was thick, black, and reached all the way to her hips just as it was styled, meaning it was longer when free. He actually fancied it quite a bit personally, and the thought of her getting rid of it made him a little… sad? It wasn't as if it was his own hair, but for some reason, Tom was saddened by this news.

Bella reached around to grip the plait and wrap it around her fist several times, giving it a good yank so the roots started pulling away from the scalp a bit. "My hair is really thick and the weight has kept it relatively straight. If I cut it short it will once again defy gravity like it used to. And I don't mind it all that much since I would know what to do to handle it now. Also, it's becoming harder and harder to keep my hair up for skating. The weight makes it pull with every sharp action I take and after a six second spin with a rotation speed too high for the naked eye to keep up with, the hair loosened enough that the moment I transitioned into a jump, it came flying out of the tie upon landing and flew into my face, even with all the pins and spray in my hair to keep it stiff."

At least her reasoning made sense. Though even if it didn't would it really be his business to complain about it anyway?

"And you can do a lot with long hair, but I don't have the time every day to personally sit down and work through all the possible updos available to one with my hair length. And they don't teach us any of those home economic spells that Mrs. Weasley uses on the daily. So I don't know how to use magic to do spell hairdos and I'm not sure how well they'd work anyway."

Tom didn't know any either. That wasn't a class offered in magical schools. Typically, magical-raised children would learn from their parents after seeing them used all the time while growing up. And of course, another thing to separate the muggle-raised children even further. That would have to be changed. He decided to make a note on it and bring it up to e Ms. Granger at a later point in time.

"I'm gonna donate whatever I get cut off. A kid out there would be able to put it to good use at least."

At the confused look no doubt showing on Tom's face, Bella set to explaining that muggles donated their own hair toward charities for people with illnesses that caused their hair to fall out/rub off and stop growing. The hair would be fashioned into wigs for use and could make a terminally ill child's day.

It was actually a very kind thing to do. Magicals didn't have anything like that because there were potions to stimulate hair growth and keep hair healthy. And Bella knew that. She could cut up the entire plait, put a select potion in her hair, and grow it out to the length she desired if she wanted to donate a considerable amount all at once.

She nudged him with her shoulder, an amused grin on her face. "Why do you look so put out, dude? It's just hair."

He sighed. "You're hair is so… nice though." It smelled lovely and was soft. He was often filled with the desire to touch it, but that would strange when uninvited, and he didn't want to just  _ask_  to touch it. That would be even more awkward than just  _secretly_  wanting to do it.

She grinned, and patted his arm. "How 'bout I let you touch it from now on if you ever get the urge, hm?"

That was a very brazen suggestion. he refused to let her know how much he appreciated it.

"Or you can just grow your own hair out and play with  _that_  in your free time."

She had a point. Suddenly the thought of himself with the common, Pureblood hairstyle, seemed interesting. Tom actually had the bone structure to pull such a style off unlike so many of those inbred twats did.

He would think on it.

* * *

It was another day. Another time to practice all the shite that Night had been drilling into them. This time, he'd specifically ordered them to all focus on their Patronus practise. And it had been an hour since the session had begun.

" **Expecto Patronum**!"

Before everyone's eyes, Prue's silver mist thickened by the second, until it swirled into the gigantic form of a dragon that spread its massive wings and gave a silent roar as it took to the air. It rounded the stone bits dangling from the ceiling, completely four lapse until it faded.

When the light dissipated, the entire room broke into applause as she was the first person to finally make a corporeal Patronus.

"A Hungarian Horntail as your Patronus," stated Night, brows raised in contemplation. "Impressive. Dragon Patroni are usually for headstrong people who are unafraid to speak their minds and who experienced a certain level of hardship and desire freedom more than anything."

She blinked, and the others did too at such a description. It was kind of on point though.

Bella touched her shoulder and asked, "What did you think of? I've been trying to get it down and I'm getting nowhere with this crap."

An uncomfortable shrug was her first answer. "I just thought about our team winning the World Cup Final this August and how important it would be for me personally since this would have nothing to do with a fake title some old codger I don't even like bestowed upon me, or my name. It be all my own skill that helped us get a win and nothing else. And I really want that." It'd be awesome.

There was a huff from Bella. "And here I was thinking of winning gold at the Olympics and still getting nowhere. Maybe I've just had too good of a life. Will I ever be able to do this?" she asked, aiming her question at Night, who sighed and reached out to pat her head. His hand lingered longer than normal in Prue's opinion, but also made her wonder if they were finally getting somewhere.

"I'm certain you'll manage it at some point, dear Bella. You have the power necessary to do it, all you have to do is find the right motivation for you. No one is the same and no one is going to be capable of using the exact same method as another person to the exact degree. It'll all work out eventually. I have faith in you to do so."

She seemed to calm a bit after that, head tilting in Night's hand a bit as it slid down to caress her cheek. And Bella's head leaned into it!

Prue's brows shot right up at the very forward gesture, and watched closely as Night realised what he was doing, stiffened a bit in discomfort, and tried to pull away in a manner that didn't startle Bella at all or draw too much attention otherwise. He failed. It was both amusing and disturbing. Prue didn't know how she felt about it, seeing as Bella was now nearly his age thanks to time-traveling.

A thought for later then.

"Congrats, Prue," Bella told her, a fond and genuine smile on her face. "If you got a dragon, I better damn well get Godzilla! Or even a dinosaur! I've got tickets to see the new Jurassic Park film coming to cinemas next week and the dinosaurs are looking awesome. I want a cool Patronus." She crossed her fingers and shook her hands back and forth. "No whammies!"

Hermione snorted and turned back to her own practising, meaning whatever Bella had said was a muggle reference that no one else would understand.

After the initial excitement died down, Prue was then given instructions to familiarise herself with how she felt as she cast the successful Corporeal Patronus, and then to continue casting as much as possible to master the charm as soon as she could.

She was actually kind of excited now that she was finally getting somewhere important. Even if there was no need for it with the British Dementors gone, she could still use the light in extremely dark places, or any time she needed an emotional pick-me-up. Patroni were warm and full of positive energy, and could cheer anyone up if they were exposed long enough.

* * *

The Exams were in full swing and Hermione was about ready to pull her frizzy hair out! The Time Turner was very helpful in these cases, but it was still so stressful having to go back and back to reach all of her classes. Having the teachers on her side was nice, but didn't help all too much when she kept appearing in places she wasn't and disappearing from places she  _was_  in.

And her Time Turner specifically was ridiculously warm as she kept using it right after the cool down time had finished. Hermione wasn't like Bella who could do twelve hours at a time. She preferred four hour bits because it seemed more easily manageable and she'd gotten a look at Bella's schedule and vowed to never let her own get that bad. How Bella managed to keep up with it, besides the dry erase board she was using of course, was beyond the brunette.

The Ministry never gave them restrictions on what they could use the items for. It was that kind of lack of foresight that was currently helping Bella out even further. One that Hermione would see fixed of course in the future. That wasn't something that could simply be so easily trusted in the hands of just anyone. They'd been evaluated for use for a reason. There just had to be more restrictions later on. Why? Because Bella was a madwoman!

Once again, her friend had factored in another twenty-four hours into her schedule for the last month because she was trying to move her birthday up from mid-October, to mid-September. This way it would possibly interfere with Lily Evans Smith and her offspring's birth. If the child was due mid-September, and if Bella became a legal adult mid-September, then Lily couldn't possibly take the Gaunt Ladyship from Bella for even a second of time. Who knew if she already had a bunch of rules to put in place ahead of time? One minute would be all it took to put new measures into effect.

And Lily wasn't aware of Bella's time-traveling exploits, so the news wouldn't be pleasant on her end when it finally came out.

Bella was building up to some kind of dramatic reveal as she had guessed that Lily would try to take the matter to court and Bella wanted to blatantly reveal her new status to Magical Britain in that last ditch effort to get Lily to back off if she knew what was good for her. And if she didn't… it didn't take a genius to figure out just what Bella was planning for the woman in any case.

But back to Hermione's troubles.

The exams were getting more difficult as the years passed, and she wasn't looking forward to her O.W.L.s. Tom had already given her a rundown of what to expect in her specialist classes and what they expected of students in so little time, was unfair in her opinion.

But she'd have to get used to it and prepare for the inevitable.

* * *

**Hey,**

**I don't know how much Amara has managed to tell you recently, but I thought it'd**  
**be good for you to hear about Hogwarts from someone who actually attends. But I**  
**want to start off with a few other things. I do have some things to say in regards to**  
**everything going on and my involvement if you're curious.**

 **Yes, I'm a witch. I learned about it the very day I turned eleven. And that was when**  
**my schedule got all fucked up as I had to work out dealing with magical school, and**  
**non-magical school, and my training. I have a godfather who is a literal Lord and is**  
**really rich. He blood adopted me when I was a baby and I'm technically his Heiress**  
**since he hasn't had any children with his husband yet. And yes, that is a possibility**  
**between Magicals. Potions can do a lot of stuff if they vibe with the one using it, or**  
**so I've learned. It's a lot of stuff to take in.**

 **My birth parents are alive and are both arseholes. They thought I was a Squib and**  
**a bully to my twin sister, Prunella, so they sent me away to magic-hating relatives**  
**as punishment. They didn't want to deal with me while my twin's fame skyrocketed.**  
**I was abandoned in the orphanage when I was 5, during Christmas. I was adopted**  
**a couple of years later, by Aaliyah as I'm sure you've read before.**

 **It's been a real trip learning about magic and all the stuff it can do. And it's really**  
**capable of damn near anything save for creating food out of thin air. That's a law**  
**or something. I wonder if anyone has actually tried to create food out of nothing**  
**though or if someone just claimed it was impossible and everyone went along with**  
**it.**

 **One thing that isn't fun is learning about how backwards and ridiculous the people**  
**are. They haven't got a lick of common sense and it drives Ali up the fucking wall.**  
**The wizard version of racism is rampant, at least in Magical Britain, and it affects**  
**everything! You might have heard about your status as a Squib and basically how**  
**you have next to no rights because people think you have no magic.**

 **You DO have magic. You simply cannot access it. You know that Naruto anime you**  
**like? Wizards have things like chakra networks which are Magical Cores. Pathways**  
**throughout out body allow us to focus our magic and use it in various places, but**  
**generally it's through a wand or a magical focus. You weren't born with pathways**  
**so you can't access your magic like others can. This knowledge has since become**  
**obscure in British history unfortunately.**

 **But never fear! I've made it my magical mission in life to find a way to give Squibs**  
**access to their magic in order to stop the amount of abandonment that happens in**  
**this society. They're already struggling to have kids - inbreeding is a very common**  
**thing here, my friend - and yet they are quick to abandon any children they have if**  
**they cannot perform magic to their expectations?**

 **It's fucking stupid. But I never said they were smart. On the whole they sure as hell**  
**aren't.**

 **Anyway, Ali and Debs have told me about what they've been considering lately, and**  
**I'm totally fine with it if you'd want to be adopted by them. They're already looking**  
**at new houses just in case. They won't make you skate either if you do not want to**  
**anymore, but they will take care of you for as long as you want them to. Even past**  
**adulthood.**

 **I can introduced you to my friends come summer. I know, I actually have friends. I**  
**just couldn't talk about them 'cause they're magical. My twin also isn't a dick. We've**  
**gotten to know each other and everything I had assumed upon first seeing her and**  
**reading about her, was very wrong. One of those situations where things aren't what**  
**they appear and the super famous, happy Potter family was the biggest lie ever! I**  
**cannot even call what they did 'raising' tbh. Her bff's mom did more raising of her**  
**than our sperm and egg donors ever bothered to.**

 **Got any questions for me? I'm sending along a Dicta Quill which will write what you**  
**dictate, and a notebook because parchment is shite and I won't subject you to that**  
**crap. My friend Tom is the one who enchanted that notebook btw. I have the other**  
**one and what you write in it, will appear in mine and vice versa so we don't have to**  
**do this letter bs all damn summer. Amara isn't a bloody owl after all.**

 **Talk to you soon,**  
**Bella.**

* * *

In her spare time, Bella had decided to learn the Pokemon Theme on the piano because she was feeling like it. The sheet music for Pokemon related content was acquired online through a fellow pianist's personal shop, and Bella had been thrilled. Their personal arrangement had been awesome in their own video and Bella wanted to learn it as well. And then once she did, she'd put her own twist on it.

But give credit where it was due of course.

Also, a lot of people were nostalgic for Pokemon as of late and it would touch a lot of hearts. She'd never gotten into it as a child, though now she  _did_  have some of the video games on hand because she liked a good adventure and the music was something she could vibe with.

The battle themes were awesome. So much work went into things like this. It was disappointing when the adults of the world would look down on the work because it was geared toward children and teens. As if that made it inferior. A lot of cartoons and anime were given a lot of work and effort and they deserved their due praise. Being mean for a younger audience didn't make something worthless.

Some anime had the best soundtracks around.

Maybe one day people would pull their head from their arses and realise that it was perfectly okay to just like shite without seeking approval from everyone around them.

* * *

"Here they are, folks!" said Bella, holding up four, tied up but severed strips of hair. Aaliyah, standing behind the camera, gestured for her to move back some and then gave a thumbs up when the entire lengths of the pieces were in the frame.

"Seventy-six cm after removing three cm of dead ends. So basically it's thirty inches of hair. It ended up being very long and taxing to manage on my own. While I like beauty stuff and doing my hair, my interest isn't strong enough to dedicate half an hour or more to it every morning."

It really  _had_  become annoying, and she was sick of it hitting her in the face during practise. That could get her a point deduction in official competition. And since certain officials in certain locations seemed to have in it for her, she couldn't give them an easy reason to tear her down.

"I'm donating this to Little Princess Trust, which is a UK-based charity that provides wigs for children who've lost their hair due to treatments and illnesses of all sorts, but mostly cancer. I've got the donation form filled out already and inside this box. The reason I need a box is because I can't fit all four strips in a single resealable bag and the bags altogether won't fit in even the biggest envelope I could find at the post office. I don't even think an envelope would handle the collective weight either tbh. I followed the instructions to the T though."

With the hair set aside for a moment, she pulled what was left of her hair, after using a hair potion to make it grow out a bit before heading to the salon, and shook her head so the viewers could get an idea of how long it was now. "A little below the shoulder blades as you can see. I'm going to get it professionally styled after this. Would I look good with a bob or naw?"

She directed that question to Aaliyah, who shrugged. "Don't look at me, kiddo. Your hair isn't known for holding any kind of shape very well."

True. Unfair but totally true. Aaliyah was lucky in a way Bella wasn't.

"Should I grow out my fringe? Do you think I'm too old for a fringe?"

"No one's too old for a fringe, kiddo."

Bella considered what she'd look like, and decided that indeed, she would look good with or without a fringe. She had one of those lucky faces. Meaning Prue had one of those lucky faces too.

Prue's hair was growing out though, once again making them differ since Bella's was now the short and kind of spiky one. A complete one-eighty from when they'd met back in their First Year.

"We'll see what happens after we get to the salon. For now, you all saw the hair, the box, and the aftermath. We'll probably film something in the salon too. Make it more interesting."

And then Bella would go back to school with a new do and wow her friends.

* * *

"Hey! I got permission to bring you some stuff!" said Amara the moment she walked into the hospital room, trying to ignore how sterile it was and how lemony it smelled.

Amara placed the bag she'd brought on Sandra's lap. It was filled to the brim with all kind of goodies and she's spent a good deal of time in Diagon Alley trying to find things that would be awesome for a newcomer to magic. "Even if the nitwits think we can't use magic, we're still technically part of the community and can use magical things. So I got you a get-well basket, without the basket part because the available ones at the shops I went to were all ugly s hell and you don't like the colour red."

Sandra had graduated to a better bed, and was no longer tied down. She'd finally been noted to be trustworthy and while she couldn't hurt herself with anything in the room anyway, they'd waited to make sure she wasn't suicidal before releasing her restraints. Amara tried to remain positive on everything going on though.

Amara used a finger to push up her glasses as them suddenly sliding too low irritated her her nose. She had really dry skin unfortunately and it constantly rubbed the bridge of her glasses to death so it became smooth and would slip at the slightest movement. She needed to get a new pair. Contacts were out of the question. She couldn't bear the idea of putting something on her naked eye. It made her shiver just thinking about it! So another pair of glasses was the way to go.

After enough time internally complaining, she motioned to the bag so the other girl could look through it. Sandra had remained stationary the whole time.

"These aren't real frogs, right?"

"No, they're charmed to jump, but they only have one good one before they just bounce a little. They're more like a scoot that a jump."

"And these aren't-"

"Real mice? No. But totally shaped like them and really impressive, I assure you. And Unicorn Foofs is just pink candy floss, but with edible, gold glitter all over it. Every Flavour Beans literally come in every flavour, so beware of skunk spray, piss, manure, and earwax. Butterbeer is butterscotch flavoured and good either cold or warm. There is some alcohol in it, just so you're aware. Blood Pops taste like blood, so I only got you one for experimental purposes. Pumpkin Juice which is a common drink, kind of tastes like a pumpkin pie- you've had them, right?"

Sandra nodded. Amara read once that she'd gone to the States before, so she would be surprised if the girl hadn't tried it while there. It was served in a lot of restaurants surprisingly.

"There's also Irish Gold, which are just chocolate coins produced by Honeydukes. Honeydukes chocolate cars for you to sample. they have the best sweets. Liquorice wands that take forever to chew so if you need to pass the time, that's for you. Drooble's Best Blowing Gum in various flavours so you can acclimate yourself to them. A single bubble, if blow properly, will actually levitate you somewhat and it won't pop. That's the gum's best known feature."

"Anything healthy?" Sandra asked after a minute of looking.

She hadn't thought of that! "Um... there should be a bottle of Gillywater in there somewhere. And some Drooble's comes in sugar-free."

"Gillywater?"

"Yeah, it's water that has been filtered through Gillyweed, which is a magical plant capable of growing temporary gills on a human and allowing them breathe underwater for a certain time depending on the amount consumed. Water filtered through it is purified, and while it won't make you grow gills if you consume it, it  _will_  make it easier for your body to absorb the water and expel waste."

"Am I even allowed to eat any of this right now?" the girl asked after a moment of contemplation.

She shrugged. "All I know is that you have to keep drinking your doses of Magical Ginger Tea in order to force the effects of the potions from your body. So long as you keep that up and keep sweating out the potions, you should be safe to have other things."

It wasn't like she had to have a specific diet or anything. It wasn't even on her clipboard! Amara, her parents, and even Ali had read it to be sure!

Sandra gave a half-arsed shrug and opened a Chocolate Frog box, jumping when the frog leapt for freedom. It was easily captured and returned to her hand though, leaving her with the box, the card, and the chocolate.

"Those are collectible cards. Each packet has a famous witch or wizard in it. And no, not all of them are good people either. They come with some limited bits of information and a realistic drawing so it's in colour."

The frog was quickly inhaled so Sandra could free up her hands to remove the card from the box. "Lord Voldemort?" she asked, pronouncing the name with a hard T instead of with the proper French pronunciation. Not that the tosser deserved such respect anyway.

And yeah, the Dark Twat had a card. She had forgotten about it. His visage was taken from a Daily Prophet clipping back in the 90s. He was clad in a black robe that looked more like pure darkness than clothing, and his eyes shone bright red beneath his hood, which was all shadows so his face was obscured.

**19??-2001?(possibly alive) #777 Gold - Limited Edition**

**Known as the Greatest Dark Lord in History, Lord Voldemort and his**  
**followers committed many crimes in the years between 1976-2001,**  
**including but not limited to five hundred deaths of muggles and then**  
**seven hundred and sixteen deaths of magicals.**

**Most notable abilities:**

**1.)** Unsupported flight. No other magical to date has been recorded  
as a user of such ability. Believed to be unique to him alone.

 **2.)** A Parselmouth. Until recently, the only British one in decades.

 **3.)** Amorphous Travel unlike Apparition. Takes the form of a dark   
cloud that can phase through objects. Also unique to him alone.

 **4.)** Non-verbal and wandless Imperius usage.

 **5.)** Suspected Mastery in Legilimency and Occlumency.

**A.K.A. You-Know-Who and He Who Must Not Be Named.**

**Was defeated on 31 October 2001 by Prunella Potter.**  
**NOTE: Whispers of him still existing remain.**

"This guy sounds like a right terrorist," said Sandra.

Amara nodded. "He is. I've got a lot to tell you about him."

* * *

"Is everything I asked for ready, Bellatrix?"

The woman, already kneeling in preparation, nodded her head. "Of course, my Lord! I have retrieved the Cup from my vault as you so wished me to!"

Hufflepuff's Cup was placed on the rotted wood before his chair, gleaming and proving it was far too nice of an item to belong in such a rundown shack like the Riddle House.

The reason he needed the Horcrux, was because he needed a back up plan, just in case something unfortunate happened in his planning this evening. The Cup would work as a vessel for his current soul piece as well should he need to escape from a body about to be destroyed.

He wasn't certain what to expect, but knowing how the Potter girls seem to avoid danger like the plague, he had to be prepared for anything. If he got a new body with the girl's blood, but somehow lost it in the same night, he'd at least have somewhere to be until he was foisted upon some unsuspecting soul and he sucked out their life-force.

Technically he  _could_  do it now, but he was very concerned about not having any other Horcruxes other than Nagini at present. Tomas Night was either the Diary or the Locket. Either way, both were gone, no doubt absorbed by him at some point. The Ring was gone, and Voldemort wasn't foolish enough to not know where it went either. He couldn't check to see if the Diadem was safe because it was in Hogwarts and he didn't have personal access to the school as of yet.

And then... Belladonna Potter. The last, possible Horcrux of his. When he'd given it considerable thought, he had to admit that it might be possible. Murdering people had fractured his soul, and he had gone to the Potter household with the intent to make another Horcrux, having already prepared the other portions of the ritual. And when he shot the curse at the twin who unnerved him the most, she swallowed the blasted thing and sent it back at him through her own eyes! The chances of a piece of his soul breaking off and attaching itself to her, were high.

He vaguely remembered seeing something else hitting her in the chest before he found himself bodiless and with no access to his magic.

If she was a Horcrux, he didn't know how to deal with her. Killing his soul, any piece of it, wasn't a preferable thought. Even if he had vowed to destroy all the living Potters.

He could simply lock her away until he found a method to remove the soul piece from her completely. She had to know something about it if she befriended another soul piece.

Belladonna Potter would die, just not right away it seemed.

"Make certain Crouch Sr. is prepared to do his duty this night. Then go to the graveyard and make certain everything else is ready for the ritual."

Bellatrix nodded, gave him a doe-eyes look of adoration, and left to see to her task.

Briefly, he was struck by how odd it was that both he and Tomas Night, had somehow managed to acquire a Bella of their own. But was Potter in any way, a match for Bellatrix Lestrange? That was the question.

* * *

The morning of the Third Task came upon them very quickly. Almost too quick for Prue's liking.

It was 21 June, and the Task took place on the second to last day of school. They'd all be going home the next morning after a filling breakfast and the usual farewell speech. Home to a full summer of their own time, doing whatever they wanted so long as they got their school work done by 1 September.

Unlike the former Tasks this one took place in the evening, and would be starting at eight. Something about nighttime making it even more difficult for the Champions, and Prue wasn't looking forward to it. She was more into the sunlight and warmth, Bella was the one who was more into night and cold.

And to make it even worse, Tomas Night had been even more alert than usual, his eyes sweeping the crowds of students around them daily, looking distrustful of everyone he saw. He'd warned of a danger to Bella in the Task, but had told both Potter twins to stay by him once the Task started, just in case. He'd taken it upon himself to be their protector, which was kind of sweet even though Prue knew she was only included as an afterthought for Bella's own peace of mind. Still, him caring enough about to her to add her sister under his wing of protection meant something big.

Crouch Jr. had squealed the moment he switched sides. Or that was the idea they'd gotten from Night's at least. Or maybe he was tortured into talking, but Night didn't  _seem_  the kind to do that. He was more the flies with honey type of bloke and wouldn't really need to use violence to prove his point in Prue's opinion. Still, he had the information and had been alert all day.

Still, their collective groups were aware of something being up and were alert as well, though probably not to the same extent as Bella's future boyfriend/husband.

"I told Batman to be ready for something possibly Voldy related to happen tonight," said Bella in hushed tones as they all sat down at the Slytherin Table for breakfast. "He looked like he was going to scream and vomit all at once. I have never seen someone blanch that hard before, and the dude's already pretty pallid naturally."

Having Snape at the ready was kind of a relief. He could at least be trustworthy to do his damn job and protect the students to the best of his ability. Few of the other professors managed to inspire any kind of faith to be perfectly honest.

Also, Snape was terrifying in his own way, and that was why she'd used him as threat inspiration when warning Night to stay in line and not bother Bella with his romantic interests until she was ready and willing to dive into them together. Snape could probably fuck someone up without blinking. He just gave off that sort of vibe even as he was calm personified.

"You okay?" Bella asked her in a low aside as they piled their plates with food. She looked concerned.

She shrugged. "Not really. I don't want to be here at all and it's because of Dumbledick that I have to risk life and limb for something stupid."

That got a snort out of her twin. "OMG! That is the best thing ever! Better than Dumbles. That will become my new thing. Dumbledick. Dumbledouche. This is great! A whole new avenue of insults incoming!  _Deserved_  insults btw."

Prue didn't respect her elders, if the elder in question was a cockwomble. It was the simple way of life. Dumbledore was an arse, and would therefore be treated like one. Nicknames and all.

* * *

"They really waited until total darkness for this shite," Bella observed with a frown. "And it's the gloomiest shite I've ever witnessed."

Tom wasn't too far behind her in terms of disappointment over what was set up for them. Inside the Quidditch Pitch, a massive maze of stone walls had been erected. They stood well over Tom's head. Probably ten heads above his height precisely. Too much for them to see over, even if any of them had a decent vertical leap.

"God, I'm getting labyrinth vibes," Bella grouched.

"That's because it  _is_  a labyrinth," stated Tom.

She shook her head. "Nah. It's a muggle thing I'm thinking about. Muggles really like mazes and stuff. Lack of imagination."

Hm.

"So we just follow the maze until we get to the cup in the middle?" asked Prunella from Tom's other side. "Sounds easy enough," she shrugged.

"You're forgetting the magical creatures thrown in to make it more difficult. Plus… who's to say the walls will remain in place?" said Tom.

That instantly had her pensive and maybe a bit concerned as they stared up at the stone walls. They were a dark shade of grey, which would make it even more difficult to see in the darkness.

Bagman and Crouch were there to greet the Champions. Crouch, for once, seemed excited to be involved in the Tournament, which immediately put Tom on edge. The man had been dull the entire time, up until this day? What was going through his mind? Why now?

Simple excitement over it almost being over? That  _could_  be it. And then he could go back to being a social recluse to escape the never-ending drama he was involved in after his immature display in the First Task and then his son's sudden appearance and actions bringing his past into the light.

Tom was resolved to keep an eye out just in case. His attention was already having to be split multiple ways to begin with. He had to protect Bella and her sister. Keeping them both safe was top priority along with winning the tourney. To keep them out of Voldemort's hands, they needed to be in the safest place possible.

"Welcome!" said Bagman, a  **Sonorus**  cast upon his voice so it may carry. The stands, which had been charmed to all be the same height so the spectators could see what was going on in the maze, erupted into cheering and clapping. There was a band playing very upbeat music in the background.

"The Third Task is about to begin, but first, the rules! We deliberately told all the officials involved, the incorrect information in regards to this Task's rules. We knew that some of you are all too willing to help your favourite Chmapion cheat," said Bagman with an exaggerated wiggle of the eyebrows. Instantly, Tom stiffened, not liking that one bit. Karkaroff had given him information to get him ahead, and it had been wrong.

"Ms. Delacour will be allowed into the maze first as she has the lowest amount of points. Five minutes later Mr. Diggory will follow her. Five minutes after that, Ms. Potter the younger will follow him. After five more minutes, Ms. Potter the elder will enter the maze. Finally, Mr. Night will enter after twenty minutes have elapsed, because he has the most points."

This was a disaster.

"You will each be brought to a select point where you will begin the maze. When given the signal of the cannon, you will then enter. The first person to get the cup wins one hundred points. The second person to grab the cup wins seventy-five points. The third person to grab the cup wins fifty points. After that, you will all be brought back here where your total scores from all the Tasks will be added up and the winner will be announced."

This was very not good. Tom couldn't protect either Potter if both girls were taken somewhere else to begin the maze. It was a quick and easy way to separate them all.

"There is only one official rule for this Task, and that is no use of the Unforgivables is permitted. Anything else, according to Tournament law, is fair game."

That meant Dark Magic was acceptable to use. Tom still wouldn't be able to do it. Britain was in the Dark Ages still, and him getting anywhere in the government wouldn't work if he used the type of magic that the general population seemed to detest.

It was limiting him personally. The others probably wouldn't use it to begin with, but he was actually from the school that taught Dark Arts primarily to its students. Tom had high aspirations and if he wanted to win, he needed to low himself just a bit, to play by society's rules. He'd done it before, though this time it would be less humiliating and degrading.

He couldn't be the only person to see how incredibly strange this all was.

* * *

They weren't even given a list of things to expect in the maze. They were each deposited in front of an entrance, told to wait for their personal signal, and told to get the TriWizard Cup before anyone else did. It was supposedly a portkey that would take them right back to the start of the maze once they touched it. The wards on Hogwarts had been lifted to allow that kind of thing so long as it was done inside the Quidditch Pitch itself.

It was a good thing Voldy was weakened and had like no DEs to use at the moment, otherwise it would be the perfect time to Portkey in and cause a hell of a lot of damage. In fact, she was shocked that Portkeys were the things being used to transport them. Couldn't some Runes be used to create mini gateways between places? That would have been much better in her opinion. Using Portkeys seemed too much like they were asking for trouble.

Anyway, Bella had to sit on her arse in front of her opening to the maze, for fifteen minutes because apparently they wanted to give Delcour and Diggory chances to get somewhere in the Tournament. Neither would win. They were too far behind in points. Not even one hundred points from getting to the cup first would get either first place. Maybe third place if one of them got lucky.

It was about a minute in, of her staring at the opening, that she saw the long path she was watching, change shape. What was once a long hall that stopped at a three-way intersection, was now just a single hall that cut to the right suddenly further down.

Another minute passed, and the right turn changed, stone coming up from the ground to block the path and stone in other places, sinking into the grass to reveal other avenues to venture through.

No path ever stayed the same for very long. She could feel her stomach sink and the nausea begin to settle in.

Bella hadn't been confined to a small, dark place in a very long time. She was uncomfortable with being reminded of such a time. The dark sky, lack of proper lighting, and dark grey walls would be hell on her.

Another signal, which meant Diggory was going in.

The paths kept on changing every minute. There seemed to be a schedule, and nothing was ever the same either. There wasn't a cycle of specific maze designs that was being used. The maze simply changed to something different each and every time.

Another signal, this time for Prue to start.

Bella stood, getting herself ready for her part. She could hear the crowd from all the way up on their special seats, screaming and cheering at whatever was going on. She couldn't see anything from her place, and it made the waiting kind of dull. Tom had to be bored to tears from wherever he'd been placed.

Tom had warned her of magical creatures to watch out for. Acromantula, Sphnixes, Lethifolds, and maybe even Runespoors. Though considering three Champions could speak Parseltongue, that might not be such a good idea.

It was during a quick stretch of the legs, that her own cannon was blown, and Bella rushed into the maze, hoping to catch the nearest opening before it changed again.

Multiple turns, aborted directions, and rushed decisions, finally brought her to her very first obstacle, which was an Acromantula. It was far bigger than she was, and snapped its pincers at her threateningly. She was also certain it was saying ' _meat_ ' in a low and gravelly tone over and over, though she wasn't certain if they could speak or not.

Bella made quick work of the spider, lobbing off half of its legs on the one side, so it couldn't move anywhere. She didn't want to kill it, though with its legs gone, it might just be better off dead anyway. Still, that decision wouldn't be placed on  _her_  shoulders, so what did she care?

After the spider, was another. Bella handle that with similar action, and found herself drawn toward a big burst of light probably a few walls over. It was red/orange, making her think of fire, and there were animalistic screams coming from that area of the wall.

There was no way through though.

" **Bombarda Maxima!** " she cast, and the section of wall crumbled away.

Well then… that was so much easier. Was she the only person to discover this?

Bella slipped through the hole in the wall and looked for the light again. Behind her, the rubble began to move and recollect itself until it reformed back into the wall as if nothing ever happened. There was a time limit.

Still, it would make the maze so much easier to deal with.

* * *

Prue was not a fan of the maze! Prue wanted nothing to do with the bloody maze! All that psyching herself up for an easy time had been ruined.

She was alone, surrounded by stone on nearly every side. Only the cold air and the sky above helped her keep her calm, but it was a close call really.

So far she'd run into a Lethifold of all things, in which she had to use her new Patronus in order to drive it away. Far, far, away. And the revelation of the silvery dragon of happiness ended up earning her a massive amount of cheering from those watching overhead.

After that encounter, she came across one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts which was not pleasant and it managed to singe her robes just the slightest because she managed to subdue it.

A turn here and there, getting trapped by the ever-changing walls, and then taking small breaks because her type of athletics involved being on a broom and not running. Her calves were throbbing and her lungs kind of hurt a bit.

She rounded a sharp corner, and found herself slamming into Tomas Night of all people. He didn't look ruffled from the maze in the least, but when he took in her appearance, his eyes tightened just a bit. "Have you seen Bella?"

"No," she murmured. "I've seen some other shite though. They got Lethifolds! Like actual, honest to Merlin Lethifolds."

"...Fuck."

She'd never heard him swear before. In fact, she'd kind of assume it was beneath him in a way. But no, he'd just up and done it. And Bella hadn't even been around to see it. Prue would have to preserve this memory for her twin to view at some later date. It would only be fair. this was what Bella had been wanting for ages!

Night grabbed her by the crook of her arm and continued to walk back where she had from come from. "Let's go. We keep moving and find her, and then stay together no matter what happens."

"Okay."

Three was better than one. Against  _any_  odds.

* * *

It happened in a flash of light, unexpected by any of them.

He and Prunella had managed to defeat an Acromantula in a joint effort, and then rounded the corner to find themselves in the center of the maze, the TriWizard Cup standing on a raised dais and glowing blue/white.

And just on the other side of the trophy, the wall exploded, revealing Bella in all her Ilvermorny-clad glory, looking no worse for wear than when the whole trial had begun. She beamed at them when she finally noticed who she was with.

"Hey, dudes!"

Tom was filled with a very sudden amount of calm. Everything was okay. They could all take the cup at the same time and get the hell out of the labyrinth for good. No one had gotten hurt. He'd never been happier in all his lives.

And then, just as things were looking up, a dark shroud descended over them, much larger than what he would expect a Lethifold to be in person. The three of them reacted instinctively, lifting their wands and casting the Patronus Charm.

Prunella's dragon appeared, but Tom was shocked to see a massive creature of unknown origin, erupt from Bella's wand, larger than even the dragon was. Tom himself, managed a very bright light that exploded from his wand tip and seemed to pulse outward. Together, the three managed to send the Lethifold flying off into the distance.

He'd cast a Patronus. Bella had been right. He'd managed to help drive away the Lethifold with a spell he'd been hesitant to attempt from the very beginning.

The audience was going insane. He tried to block them out, wanting to focus on everything happening.

And just as the light finally faded, something unexpected happened. The coveted trophy lifted from its dais and shot right into Bella's arms, taking her away with another flash of bright light.

And all Tom could think of, was the confused look on her face as she disappeared.

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

> **Bella's new haircut:**
> 
> ****

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	51. PART II - You Give What You Get

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens immediately after Bella disappears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This whole chapter is literally time-travel shenanigans. Pay it very close  
> attention because even I got confused in places.
> 
> -April 28th is the one year anniversary of this fic, so Happy Anniversary! I  
> have started the next chapter but there is no guarantee it'll be out by next  
> Friday. Sorry. It was difficult getting this one finished to my standards. My  
> wrists have been killing me so I've written less this week than I usually try  
> to.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

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* * *

**~.O.~**

* * *

This was the moment he'd spent the past year waiting for. All of his careful planning, and the ups and the downs they'd had to deal with. The bumps in the road that tried to derail everything he'd been working toward. From his lack of power to the deaths of his forces. And now, after all this time, Belladonna Potter was finally within his grasp and he could finally return to his former power and begin his conquest anew. New followers were waiting to be recruited at any moment and he'd chosen to look at the situation optimistically.

It was the perfect night for this. The temperature was even, the sky was dark, with stars visible near-perfectly. The moon was just past half full and the ritual only needed at least partial lunar visibility for it to work to the fullest degree. Thank Circe a full moon hadn't been a requirement. Those were always dangerous rituals to conduct.

Bellatrix was stationed near the pewter cauldron they would be putting to good use, him clutched in one arm and wand at the ready.

It was in a flash of white light that Belladonna Potter appeared, looking baffled and out of place considering the clothing she was garbed in. In her hands was the glowing TriWizard Cup that had served its purpose.

A spell to render her immobile sailed over her head as she managed to dodge at the very last second, rolling and coming up with her wand pointed at them. A non-verbal Reductor was sent their way, which Bellatrix was able to knock away with ease.

"The little girl has some dueling talent?!" the Lestrange acknowledged, voice high and full of amusement. Bellatrix had always enjoyed a good fight which was what made teaching her how to duel properly, so entertaining. Her savagery was majestic and she maintained fluidity of movement enough to not  _look_  like a savage.

A litany of hissing exploded from the kidnapped child as her wand waved expertly through the numerous spells she weaved, leaving Bellatrix on the defensive for the time being as she knew not what was coming her way and could not properly mount an offensive manoeuvre. Voldemort would admit to being impressed by how much Parselmagic Potter knew, seeing as  _he_  hadn't learned about it until he was about nineteen and had taken forever to learn on his own.

It was an intense few minutes of movement where Bellatrix remained on the defensive, but Potter kept trying to get further and further away for protection purposes. It was only logical to keep them at a significant distance so she might attempt to get away. It was no news that Bellatrix was a better duelist than a child was and most were encouraged to  _'flee on sight'_  if they came anywhere near her.

Voldemort wasn't worried because any moment now…

The spells stopped as the girl slumped to the ground, Wormtail revealed to be right behind her.  _That_  was what he'd be waiting for! Useless though he may be in most pursuits, this was one thing Wormtail could do with minimal failure.

Talent and all appreciation it evoked aside, Voldemort was thrilled to finally get along with the main event of the evening. He wanted his body back. He wanted full access to his incredible magical strength once again. He wanted to put those who had dared to stand against him decades ago, in their place. He needed to make an example of them.

Wormtail tied the girl to the statue atop Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave, her limp body hanging forward a bit, pushing against the conjured ropes. It was best to get the ritual done as soon as they could before she awakened to cause them any trouble. He wasn't so foolish as to assume she couldn't get free somehow. She was the Prophecy Child and never would someone who was prophesied to vanquish Lord Voldemort be so pathetic that they could not free themselves from such minor holdings.

"Begin the steps," Voldemort ordered, voice barely above a whisper.

Bellatrix cooed and stepped forward, placing his frail body into the cauldron along with the already prepared base. The liquid was hot but he would endure because this was a means to an end.

The bone from his muggle father's grave was added to the mixture, landing beside him. Seconds passed, and the sound of arguing arose between Wormtail and Bellatrix.

"I cut her open but she's Twice-Blessed and it healed immediately!" the coward whimpered under the force of Bellatrix's ire. "She'll just keep healing. How can we obtain enough blood if her injuries don't linger?"

"Just keep cutting, you simpering simpleton!" the woman hissed.

"I would very much like it that you  _didn't_  since that shite burns like a motherfucker," came Potter's voice. She must have awoken from the pain of Wormtail trying to extract her blood. And of course she wouldn't be capable of sitting quietly.

Of all the things to be made into a Horcrux, someone who cannot stayed injured and is apparently impossible to kill, was perfect. It was a shame that she was his enemy though. But when he had a body once more and access to the vastness of his power, he could truly consider just what to do with the girl then.

Eventually, his followers seemed to find a method that worked, which included the teenager among them swearing with words Voldemort didn't even recognise but instinctively knew were quite filthy anyway. She called him a _'wank biscuit'_  and he'd never felt more insulted while not truly understanding what the insult was.

He could feel the magic reacting as each new ingredient was added. Finally, after a minor scuffle, Wormtail's left hand and forearm plopped into the potion, and the magic finally took full effect.

* * *

When the TriWizard Cup literally flew into Bella's hands, she'd been a little confused, but had just decided to go along with it. So she'd get the hundred points first. It didn't mean she'd win. If Tom grabbed the cup next, and got the seventy-five points, then she'd still be a few points behind him in the grand total of the tourney. So she was, mostly, assured second place, and that was fine. It wasn't as if she had gotten into this willingly and not winning didn't in any way make her unhappy. besides, Tom would get further in his plans this way.

Still, when she was not greeted with the booming applause and ridiculous streamers of the crowd, and instead found herself stood in a very familiar, grimy graveyard, Bella knew that the shite, as Americans would say, had hit the fan.

She'd seen it before, in a vision. Or a dream. Or a dream/vision thing, where she was Voldemort's snake Nagini, slithering through the underbrush and into little holes just big enough to fit her long body. And the only reason she'd been able to do that was because the snake was, most likely, a Horcrux as well. Sharing mental space with other beings possessing Voldemort's soul was probably possible.

Distantly, that made her wonder if she could see into Tom's mind if she truly wanted to. He hadn't been able to control her because of her own Horcrux interfering, but what about other things?

But all possible tangents aside, this situation was not good. Someone had fucked with the cup and if she was in the graveyard near Voldemort's current home base or whatever, then that meant this was Voldemort's plan. But who could have been the one to manipulate the cup in the first place? Everyone at the Task, she was pretty certain, hadn't been exposed to Voldy in any way. And only few people would have access to the cup to mess with it.

He was trapped as a weird baby-thing in a house miles upon miles away, that only three people knew about! And since Tom had Barty Jr. on standby, it couldn't be him who was responsible.

Getting attacked suddenly by Bellatrix Lestrange hadn't been pleasant, but Bella had Parselmagic on her side and so long as she gained enough distance, she'd be able to use the Time Turner to escape the entire situation! She just had to get enough ground between them for her to duck behind a headstone and have enough clarity to turn the mini hourglass properly.

And then she got hit from behind and was knocked out.

Thankfully it seemed to be temporary as she was startled to consciousness by a burning pain in her arm where Wormtail had shoved a long blade and was trying to gather her blood in a little, blue vial. The plan seemed to be failing since her healing factor was so fast and kept getting in the way. Enough to have he and Lestrange arguing quite loudly over what to do about it.

Eventually Lestrange grabbed the blade from the quivering man and roughly sliced across Bella's exposed arm in stilted sawing motions. Bella, who had obtained all manner of injuries from her years of skating, had never felt anything like it before and screamed as many profanities as she could while the burning persisted. And because she kept healing so fast, Lestrange had to keep up her near-frantic sawing until enough blood had dripped into the vial for what they needed it for.

In the privacy of her own mind, Bella was planning the woman's violent death and felt gleeful at the thought of handling it personally. A nice  **Reducto**  to blow her head up would be nice. It'd be like in one of her video games.

Wormtail losing a hand in the process of the ritual was only slightly appeasing. Him whimpering and whinging in pain was like music to her ears, but the whole moment was ruined by a very tall, pale, and snakey, naked figure stepping out of the cauldron and flashing the entire graveyard with his bits.

Bella had never seen a penis in person before. She had access to the internet of course and had long ago satisfied her own curiosity about things she'd been deemed too young to know about. Also, it seemed like someone's nudes were getting leaked on social media every month and no one had the common decency to tag things properly so she did get hit with some things that should have remained private.

But this was a first time exposition irl.

Like she  _knew_  that people who did porn were usually chosen because they had above average anything on them so they'd be more appealing to viewers or something like that. But…

"Is your dick  _supposed_  to be that small?" she ended up asking aloud, hoping someone would be nice enough to answer. Shouldn't it be proportionate since the rest of him was so ridiculously long? Neck, arms, legs, all super long and lanky. But his dick…

Obviously her question left the man stunned for a moment as he merely blinked and stared at her in utter bafflement. His lackeys though, did not take her words so well.

"HOW  _DARE_  YOU!" screeched Lestrange, brandishing her wand in Bella's face like it was truly a threat.

They hadn't killed her. They could have simply been done with her and then taken her blood that way. Meaning Voldemort wanted her alive and therefore, anything Lestrange did would essentially be fixed eventually, so Bella wasn't too threatened. Besides, her Master hadn't given her any orders and if there was even a smidgen of Tom still in him, he would not like people acting without his explicit direction and would very much say or do something about it.

"My lord is absolute perfection!" the Lestrange woman continued, spittle flying all over Bella's face. Gross. She could even wipe it off.

"Hell no he isn't," countered Bella, remembering her friend's wonderfully shaped face with ease. " _Tom_  is perfection and his dick is properly-sized too!" Having used Polyjuice with Tom's hair, Bella had gotten to live a small amount of time in the other teen's body and she had felt everything that could be felt when one has a penis. So Bella could very well admit that Tom was… at least average. And average was like 13/14 cm basically. Not five if her sense of perception was on point. Voldy was only four steps away so it wasn't like she was visually measuring over some great distance!

Voldemort seemed unconcerned with his own nudity or the size of his dick, and he approached Bella in only two steps with his ridiculously long legs, and smiled at her, so tall he was almost eye level despite her being held up against a very tall statue that acted as a headstone. His lips were thin and awkward looking. If his skin wasn't so pale she might have mistaken them for labia minora. In fact she pretty much was. Maybe like a vampire's labia. That would make sense at least with the drain of melanin and lack of UV exposure. He was very cadaverous.

"Ms. Potter, you are very different from your pathetic sister. It's amusing to take note of just how many differences there are between you both. Perhaps having my soul inside you has had a different effect on your growth as an individual." He looked more curious than anything.

Both of them ignored Lestrange's squawking at his words as there was more important things going on.

Such as Voldy knowing Bella was a Horcrux. Not good.

However… "Don't talk shite about Prue, Voldy. She's a good kid. You were stupid enough to use the opinions of people you didn't even like, to form your own opinions on her. I actually gathered info and got to know her myself and she's pretty damn impressive as a person and you will not disrespect her progress. She got to where she is now despite fuckface and dipshite being the world's worst parents.

"I've read that you've always given credit where it is due and you better damn well continue doing so. It's like the only respectable thing about you."

"HOW  _DARE_  YOU!" Lestrange blustered once more while her lord remained impassive.

"Bitch, I'll dare all I want, go fuck a cactus!"

Meanwhile, Voldemort had turned his attention to Wormtail, who was still whimpering over the loss of his hand. "My wand, Wormtail," the Dark Lord said, voice barely above a whisper.

The coward didn't even get called by his name by his own side. At best he'd be remembered as a rat and nothing more. It was what he deserved.

Back to her main concern. Dick insults did not affect Voldy at all. Lackeys perhaps, but they weren't the ones she wanted a reaction out of. She needed to be released from her binds and she needed to get to her wand if she wanted to make it out of this in one piece.

Currently, it was three against one. Three who had wands and one who had Parselmagic that one of the enemy three could combat now that he had a useful body again. Bella didn't know how to Apparate yet and it would have been a nice ace in the hole because who would think an assumed fourteen year old would know that?

Seeing as she would actually be turning seventeen in September though, perhaps she could get Sirius and Remus to teach her when this was all over?

"And for the record, Voldy, your soul has nothing to do with my skills. It's been nothing but an arsehole to me since I got adopted and has just tried to hinder me. So don't strain yourself from the reach that would be necessary if you wanna pat your own back so badly."

He seemingly ignored her and she seethed internally. No insults seemed to work on him!

"Now that I have you in my possession, I can finally address certain thoughts I've been considering as of late," said Voldemort as he waved his bone-white wand over his form and robes of the darkest night garbed him instantly. "Particularly, how you managed to live when being hit with the Killing Curse and how you could swallow it and regurgitate it back in my direction."

She and Tom had had many discussions about this and were no closer to finding a solid answer because there could be many reasons behind it. Ones not even thought of. Too many unknown variables to consider.

"Essentially, with your birth mother being the direct Heiress of the Gaunt line and technically having purer blood than I, family Magicks enacted protections around you when I attacked that night. As I hadn't been formally disowned by either Marvolo or Morfin while they maintained Headship, I was still considered a member of the family, and I attacked my ' _superior_ ' essentially, with intent to do more than harm. I was then punished by Magick itself and stripped of my form and powers to wander the Earth as no more than a bodiless wraith preying upon animals to get by. It couldn't be called living, let alone surviving, but survive I did."

Lestrange and Wormtail were riveted as the man walked back and forth in front of the headstone Bella was tied to, his strides long and purposeful. He was focused on his words alone and didn't seem to care that she was struggling to break free. Not that her struggles did anything of course but doing nothing seemed stupid.

"As you know of my Horcruxes, you understand why I did not truly die upon contact with the deadliest of the Unforgivable Curses. And yet now that I have the information I have required for so long, I can honestly say that there is nothing remotely awe-inspiring about you as a person or your supposed grand accomplishment in defeating me at the height of reign. My failure that night wasn't so much about you or your magic, as it was about me attacking the Heiress Apparent to my blood family and Magick taking umbrage to such actions.

"Meaning despite whatever talents you have developed over the course of your short life, there is nothing remotely captivating about you. No power that is worth coveting. No abilities that I do not already possess. You are simply an unforeseen factor on the road to my ultimate conquest. Lord Voldemort's plans would never be diverted for too long- I who have gone farther than any other being has when it comes to mastering the depths of magical knowledge. Adroit in the art of savoir faire and one who commands incalculable magical potential. No, Belladonna Potter, you are nothing worthy of notice."

Voldemort seemed to be one of the unfortunate people to suffer from acute prolixity. He was like a more annoying version of Snape. Snape wasn't sauntering about with his fancy, billowing robes, pulling his arm out of socket just to pat himself on the back.

"Furthermore," oh God, he was still going, "now that I know you are my Horcrux, I simply need to keep you locked away until I can find a way to remove the soul piece from you. Once the extraction happens, you will be easy to dispose of and then I can dedicate all of my attention once more, on conquering all of Magical Britain."

She snorted. "If Tom can't even remove this parasite, you sure as hell won't, Voldy. He's got more of your soul than you do. The whole splitting up so much was really stupid by the way. You did nothing but limit yourself and now half of your Horcruxes are gone, and it's all the ones that have the most soul pieces in them." She was fibbing a bit since they didn't know where the Diadem was, but Voldy didn't need to know that.

The Dark Wizard frowned, but otherwise did not rise to her baiting. Which was really annoying. For a dude who was supposedly super crazy, he was very calm.

She didn't really know what to do to get him angry. She didn't know him very well. He was so very different from Tom. What buttons could she push?

 ** _Individuality,_**  her mind whispered.

Tom liked being unique and unlike any other out there. She was certain Voldy was equally as cocksure. If anything of Tom was still, in there somewhere, that would be it. So the best way to land a hit was to hurt his pride and self-possessiveness.

"So… do you want a medal, monument, or chest pin for the Most Unoriginal Monologue from a Predictable Villain in a Dramatic Performance?" was her eventual comment.

At once, both Lestrange and Voldemort twitched, but it wasn't Voldemort that physically reacted. It was Lestrange.

Being blasted off a statue and knocked into a nearby headstone hurt like hell, but it did get her free and that had been the basic aim from the start.

As she rolled around and non-verbally summoned her wand, Voldemort tsked like this was just a mild tanty from the woman. "Now dear Bella, we don't lose our composure over little girls."

Okay, first off, he called his own Bella-something  _'dear Bella'_  too and that was weird to consider. And second, she was no damn  _'little girl'_!

Bella ducked behind a headstone, ignoring the cold and high laughter coming from Voldemort, who seemed to find her actions humorous. "There's nowhere for you to go, Potter. Be a good girl and come out at once! Lord Voldemort can be merciful to those who do as they're told."

The whole talking in 3rd POV was becoming annoying.

If only she'd had more time to plan things out.

She blinked… and reached up to tap her chest, feeling the telltale hourglass beneath her robes! She still had the Time Turner. She could get out of the situation easily! All she needed was the TriWizard Cup and she could get the hell out and pretend like she hadn't been gone for however long she was gone for! Then she'd be back at Hogwarts once she turned back, and could hand off the cup and be done with everything!

The cup was all that was needed.

She peeked around the corner of the headstone to find Lestrange coming toward her with purposeful strides and wand outstretched. There was a mad look in the woman's eyes that Bella did  _not_  want an up close view of.

The blue glow of the cup was not too far behind Lestrange, and with a twitch of her own wand, the cup came soaring in her direction, slamming into Lestrange's head and knocking her over in the process. Bella reached out to catch it and ducked back to safety, ignoring Lestrange's shouted threats.

Her watch said it was 9:37 and if she went back an hour, she'd have a few minutes to comport herself before spinning some lie about the cup taking her outside of its scheduled zone. Enough time to show up at the start of the maze with cup in hand, minutes after grabbing it to explain where she'd disappeared to despite not appearing where expected.

Bella gave the item a single spin, and vanished to a place near where she'd been only an hour previous.

She found herself stood outside the Quidditch Pitch at the time in which the cup had floated into her hands. All she had to do was feign ignorance and present the cup to Bagman.

What a relief. No more fighting today.

* * *

"Is it me, or have things gone suspiciously quiet?" Prue asked, minutes after Bella disappeared with the cup and nothing happened.

The crowd had exploded with cheers, but those eventually died down and the next few minutes were spent in silent confusion. And Tom, as one would expect, was mildly panicking because he wanted to know where Bella was and wanted to be near her to keep her safe. Being out of the maze didn't make her any safer at present. Anything could happen when least or most expected.

It was after Prue's question, that the cup appeared once more on its dais, glowing as if nothing had happened and ready to be grabbed once more. The two Champions shared a look and reached for it at the same time, being whisked away together for a joint clutch for Second Place in the Third Task.

Appearing at the start of the maze was met with the explosion of the bad and the cheers of the audience. And then Bella. It was like all the frigid anxiety that had been building up since the Task had started, just bled away. There was a warm relief in its place that spread all across his limbs.

And Bella pulled him into a very tight hug once they had clear sight of one another, squeezing him around the middle with as much strength as she was capable of. And because of the emotional upheaval he'd been through in the last hour, Tom returned her embrace just as enthusiastically, pleased to know that she was safe and well. With him by her side, the chances of anything happening now were significantly decreased. He felt more ready for anything now.

He personally chose to ignore the scent of blood coming from her hair while burying his face in it.

§ ** _I gotta talk to you once this is over. It's about Voldy and it's super important,_** § she hissed to him.

He stiffened upon hearing those words, and pulled away a bit to see her face.

Now that he was up close, he could see more dirt and blood on her than there was the last time he'd laid eyes on her. Her left sleeve was torn and covered in blood that had not been there before she grabbed the cup. Blood meant an injury and while there was none obviously there, one  _had_  been there and had just healed up.

§ _ **What happened?**_ § he demanded, but she shook her head minutely. Her eyes were serious.

§ ** _After the Task. We can't do anything until it's long over anyway, and we have endless amounts of time on our hands if you'll recall._** §

A Time turner would be involved then. Suddenly that anxiety had returned in full force and he didn't like it.

All through the rest of the Task, his mind ran through possibilities on what Bella wanted to discuss. He barely noted the scores that were added up once Delacour finally got to the cup and Diggory didn't. Though he was pleased to note that he had indeed won still, even with Bella getting 100 points from getting the cup first. His lead from the former Tasks still gave him an edge in the end, even when only getting 75 points for himself.

But Bella was only five points behind him, which was impressive for someone who hadn't even started training for her O.W.L.s yet.

Tomas Night was announced as the winner and he was given the TriWizard Cup immediately, filled with the one thousand Galleons promised to the victor. And yet he couldn't even feel happy about it, because something was terribly wrong.

Even throughout the late night celebrations, he was too distracted to care.

* * *

Prue had gotten a lot better at being sly in recent years. There wasn't often a need for it in her case since Gryffindors were kind of thick and incapable of grasping obvious things, let alone an attempt at subtlety. But she was still capable of it. So when she'd heard Bella and Tom hissing about having a talk about Voldemort of all people, some time after the Task, she knew she had to find out what was going on.

She wasn't so oblivious to not notice Bella's haggard appearance which hadn't been the case when she'd gotten the cup. She knew something had happened, even if she couldn't pinpoint what.

Still, after the celebrations which had seen them all back in the Great Hall for a never-ending amount of sweets and alcohol, she sneaked around, keeping them in her sights until they decided to move away from the crowd. Sneaking behind them as they moved to a more private setting to have their discussion, was a lot easier than she'd anticipated. She also managed to slip into their space before Tom's privacy spell went up, ducking behind a large and dusty tapestry so she could listen without being found.

And Bella surely did not hold back in the least.

"That fucking cup's coordinates had been set to Little Hangleton. I appeared to find Bellatrix Lestrange, Wormtail, and Voldemort awaiting me for a ritual that I unfortunately had to help in. Voldemort has a body again, and I only escaped because Lestrange seems to be more Gryffindor than Slytherin and she gave me a chance to use the Time Turner to go back to a place near where I had been an hour previous."

It was a very rushed explanation that left both Prue and Tom bewildered for a few seconds, but that was enough time for them to get it. And Prue, because she just couldn't stay out of it when Voldemort was her problem as well, stepped out from behind the tapestry she'd been using as a cover and said, "Is that why your arm was covered in blood and you looked like shite?"

Both Slytherins gaped at her and she would have to remember to hold it against them later. Just so they'd never forget the time they'd been so in sync and out of character. Like a couple. Prue wasn't letting that assessment go either.

Bella groaned but nodded. "They needed a certain amount of blood for the ritual but I kept healing too quickly so Lestrange started trying to saw my arm off and it worked enough to get her the blood, but my healing just breezed through it swiftly. Hurt like a bitch though."

Almost immediately, Tom's hands moved to - and Prue was not joking when she specified this - caress the pale and unblemished skin of Bella's forearm that was exposed due to her sleeve being tore to shreds. As if assuring himself of the fact that Bella was okay. Now at least. Merlin, those two were going to make her go silver before even reached middle age if they didn't get with it soon. Watching them circle one another was getting frustrating.

"Anyway, I kinda wanna go back and try and take out Wormtail and Lestrange. I doubt I could take Voldy, but the other two might be easier. But I was thinking of you coming with me. You can Apparate us out of there, or I can use the Time Turner if the situation gets sticky, as a quick getaway."

Prue stepped closer, "I'm coming too!"

"You don't like putting yourself in danger though," Bella pointed out.

"Neither do you but you're going to try and take these arseholes out so they can't cause any more problems for the world, and since I am also a target, it seems only right that I try helping. Besides, everyone thinks I'm the Girl Who Lived, so shouldn't I live up to the title or something?" Basically, she'd just feel incredibly guilty if she knew Bella and Tom would be willingly walking into a dangerous situation without any backup, while Prue remained behind completely safe.

It didn't sit right with her. Her morals might not be the best, but she wasn't  _horrible_.

Tom frowned, but didn't reject what she had to say. He probably saw the benefit of having three on three instead of three on two. Prue could probably take out Wormtail. He didn't have outstanding grades in the least in school. He'd simply rode on the coattails of the other Marauders in order to get anywhere. The best he could do was turn into a rat and Tom had taught them how to reverse the Animagus transformation so he wouldn't be able to escape her.

"If there's three of us, I'll just have to make a Portkey from there to Hogsmeade," said Tom. "I've been to Little Hangleton personally so I know what to do for it. But the important thing to consider is the danger we're heading into and plotting on how to avoid injury if at all possible."

"Wormtail had to cut off his hand and part of his arm for the ritual so he's even more useless to them now," Bella murmured. "So the true threats are Lestrange, who I managed to hold off before getting KO'd by surprise. And you could probably hold Voldy off, Tom. Not sure you have enough experience to kill him though, no offence."

He shrugged. "I'm good, and I know it, but his mental state is unknown to me so I can't properly assume what would happen."

"Kinda sane actually," Bella revealed with a grimace. "I threw a shite tonne of insults his way and only me calling him predictable and unoriginal seemed to have an affect, and it was just a minor twitch of displeasure at that."

The look that came over Tom's face was capable of explaining  _exactly_  how Prue felt when she heard those words coming from her older sister.

"Only you would look a Dark Lord in the eye and proceed to insult him deliberately while he has you at his mercy."

Bella shrugged. "He wasn't looking to kill me. He needs to get his soul out of me first, which means he at least won't kill me until that happens, so I knew I was fine...ish for the most part. And he's a fucking twat and deserves to hear it. He started talking shite about Prue and I shut his arse down very quickly. Voldy McMonologue doesn't get to talk down on others who don't deserve it on my watch.

"And oh my God, he doesn't shut up! He talks like Lockhart, but his words can actually be backed up which makes him more annoying in some aspects and less annoying in others."

Merlin! Prue had met him once before and she recalled him liking to hear himself speak. He must have gotten worse between then and now.

"When do you want to go?" asked Tom, getting them back on track with the main topic of the discussion.

"As soon as the Time Turner reaches the cool down limit within the next half hour. I know the time I disappeared from the graveyard so if we go back to a few minutes before then, we'll appear somewhere in Little Hangleton and be able to go from there."

"Very well then."

Prue's heart was in her throat as she thought about how dangerous this whole situation would be and the fact that she was volunteering to help take out some of Voldemort's forces. But things had to be handled, so it was now or never.

She pulled the Marauder's Map from her pocket, having refused to ever leave it behind in the past term, and handed it to Bella. "There are currently fourteen ways to get out of the safety of the wards. And Sirius and Remus do patrol them personally. I think they have a copy of the map and use it themselves. Fred and George have said they always get caught sneaking to Honeydukes, but are allowed to go because sneaking in sweets for celebrations isn't something Sirius considers to be punishable. If we use the secret passageway that leads directly into Honeydukes' cellar to get back in, they will probably let us sneak around if they're watching and under the impression that we were getting food."

Bella hummed. "You ever sneak out?"

She shook her head. "Never seemed appealing to me."

"Well, there's a first time for everything. Hold onto the map so when Tom makes that Portkey, we can keep an eye out for anyone who might catch us."

* * *

When they appeared on a dirt road that gave them a perfect view of the graveyard, Bella knew shite was about to go down. The Time Turner was unlooped from Tom and Prue's necks and shoved back into her robes, the heat of the metal burning against her sternum and making her curse-scar tingle from the contact. But there were more important things going on at present so she couldn't focus on that. "Tom, disguise us so not even Voldy can pick up our presence." She had full faith that he could do it.

With a powerful Disillusionment Charm in place, the three made their way down the hill toward the graveyard where in the distance, they could see the giant cauldron Voldemort had used to construct a new body for himself. Beside it were Wormtail and Bellatrix, and in front of it was Bella's past self, tied to the massive headstone and struggling, to no avail, to free herself from her bonds.

The potion frothed and bubbled a dark colour almost too dark to discern, though she'd say brown, and rising out of it was Voldemort in all his naked glory. Prue coughed beside her and looked away in mortification. Tom was gaping in open disgust at what his other self had become. If this wasn't an incentive to avoid following Voldy's footsteps, Bella didn't know what would do it. if Tom didn't want to end up long, bald, and pallid, he'd behave.

Everything was tense as Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron, the paleness of his skin shone bright in the darkness of the evening. He looked like a spectre just standing there among the gloom of the graveyard.

"Is your dick  _supposed_  to be that small?" ended up cutting through the mounting tension as past-Bella stared the Dark Lord down in obvious confusion, eyes trained specifically below the waist.

Oh. She'd forgotten about that.

"HOW  _DARE_  YOU!" came Lestrange's offended screaming on cue.

In reaction to past-Bella's outburst, Tom face-palmed and Prue whispered a low but incredulous, "Bella, what the fuck?"

With face flaming, she whispered back, "I couldn't help it! I've never seen one in person and I thought they were supposed to be bigger! It's small! It's so small you can't even see it from here and we're not that far away!" A few headstones over to be precise. A perfect vantage point of the proceedings to know when they needed to step in.

"My lord is absolute perfection!" came the expected words from Bellatrix Lestrange, just like they had hours ago for Bella herself.

And suddenly Bella remembered what she'd said in response and buried her face in her hands to avoid eye contact with her companions once the words finally came out of her past self's mouth.

"Hell no he isn't," past-Bella said with near-demanding surety and a voice far too clear for her liking. "Tom is perfection and his dick is properly-sized too!"

" _Bella_ …" said Prue, her voice high-pitched with either amusement or worry, she didn't know. She didn't want to consider it any further.

The urge to look at Tom was too great and she chanced a small glance his way, and found him staring at her with a quirked brow, an amused tilt to his very attractively-shaped lips. "How would you know the size of my penis? I'm certain I never gave you a personal demonstration before."

"Polyjuice," was her mumbled reply. "I learned that uh… any kind of movement really gets you going when you have a dick. It was just some basic contact with fabric I was wearing and I got my first boner while in your body. It was a very awkward experience altogether and I don't wanna talk about it anymore so shut up!"

Prue, who was stood between them, was snickering into her hand even though her face was almost red.

Bella's small explanation had them miss a considerable amount of Voldemort's monologuing, which wasn't fair. They should have to suffer through it too. It was only right.

"-Lord Voldemort's plans would never be diverted for too long- I who have gone farther than any other being has when it comes to mastering the depths of magical knowledge. Adroit in the art of savoir faire and one who commands incalculable magical potential. No, Belladonna Potter, you are nothing worthy of notice."

"He really  _does_  sound like Lockhart," murmured Prue with a shudder. "I hate him even more now."

"Ditto," said Tom, probably not even aware of the fact that he used a word he'd picked up from Bella! She was going to rub it in his face for the rest of their lives!

Voldemort was still going on of course. "Furthermore, now that I know you are my Horcrux, I simply need to keep you locked away until I can find a way to remove the soul piece from you. Once the extraction happens, you will be easy to dispose of."

"Over my cooling corpse," hissed Tom, the grip on his wand tightening.

Past-Bella gave a very throaty snort in response to Voldemort's claims. "If Tom can't even remove it, you sure as hell won't, Voldy. He's got more of your soul than you do. The whole splitting up so much was really stupid by the way. You did nothing but limit yourself and now half of your Horcruxes are gone, and it's all the ones that have the most soul pieces in them."

"Excuse me,  _what_?" asked Prue, sending Tom a very demanding look, her body angling to where she was perfectly cutting off any possible chance of him touching Bella at all. It was rather sweet even though it was misguided. "You have his  _soul_  in you?"

Bella elbowed her in the side and said, "Voldy split himself in half in the 40s and locked that half away. Tom is that half who was freed relatively recently. We can talk about it later. Just know that he's on our side and is very peeved at Voldy for many reasons."

While still alarmed, Prue decided to take her older sister's word for it and gave a sharp nod. But the look on her face said she would not be forgetting any time soon.

"So… do you want a medal, monument, or chest pin for the Most Unoriginal Monologue from a Predictable Villain in a Dramatic Performance?" said past-Bella.

"Get ready," Bella hissed, raising her wand. "Lestrange attacks and I get blasted back." It was like she was running commentary as it happened. "I struggle to grab my wand and duck behind a headstone for protection. Voldy tries and fails to persuade me into the open and Lestrange decides to pursue on his behalf. I summon the cup and gtfo."

They watched as the TriWizard Cup went soaring across the graveyard and slammed into the back of Bellatrix Lestrange's head, knocking her over. Voldemort gave a shout of anger when Wormtail revealed through chattering teeth that past-Bella had disappeared.

"Let's go!" said Bella, dashing forward and sending a very high-powered  **Diffindo**  at Lestrange's back while the woman struggled to stand, no doubt concussed from being hit with several kilograms of pure metal that had gained considerable momentum in a short span of time. The curse landing with a loud squelch and sent her back to the ground in a bloodied heap. Simultaneously, Prue went after Wormtail, spouting spell after spell in quick-time to render him immobile and incapable of fighting, and Tom sauntered toward Voldemort, the physical manifestation of chillaxed and unconcerned. And Voldemort... watched it all happen with growing confusion.

"How… interesting," the Dark Lord stated upon seeing Tom there in the graveyard.

Bella made quick work of tying up Bellatrix and putting her to sleep with Parselmagic. If she bled out, oh well. No one would truly miss her. Voldemort didn't have friends, he had lackeys who were useful to an extent and once their use was up, he abandoned them or killed them. She was nothing now.

"When you decide to kidnap someone and force them to participate in your weird, wannabe orgy, you should make certain you remove all escape options from them otherwise they leave you high and dry," said Bella blithely.

At Tom's sigh, she realised she might have gone a little too far with the weird. But she couldn't help it! This was simply how Bella was as a person!

* * *

Voldemort hadn't even considered the fact that the girl might still have her Time Turner on her. Of course a Slytherin would keep it to the very last moment, even when classes were over and there was no more work left to do. He would have done the same had such things existed back when he attended Hogwarts.

And the girl had decided to bring his Horcrux and her twin to the graveyard. He didn't know exactly what the plan was, but as both Bellatrix and Wormtail had been taken down in seconds, he could guess.

Of course they would leave his younger self to handle the true threat though.

"I find myself curious to know just how you came to have a body once more," he said, lifting his Yew wand so that it faced his opponent.

"Xenophon got on dear Bella's bad side and she gave me to him. I merely made use of his resources before rejoining the real world once again."

And how did Potter come across a Horcrux to begin with? He'd been so certain his hiding places were perfect!

Tom smirked. "You should watch who you put your faith into. And know that whenever I absorb one of your Horcruxes, I learn whatever information is has up until the time of its creation. That's how I knew how to get to Little Hangleton and how I already have the Ring."

In the end it didn't matter which Horcrux the boy originally was, because he could simply take over the boy's mind and body and take his place. It would be the perfect cover, using whatever bonds the boy had formed to his personal benefit.

The  **Legilimens**  he cast was quick and silent, and allowed him into his other self's mind. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate protections being set in place, or the fact that Tom had better self-control. And he indeed had a larger portion of their soul, which gave him an edge.

The darkness of Tom's mind faded when Voldemort's body was plunged into fiery torture that he'd never personally experienced before.

It was a pain curse, not exactly like the  **Cruciatus** , that was borderline Dark Magic, but not exactly close enough. Added to the pain of it, was the pain of a different curse that formed lacerations on the body it would seem. He was unfamiliar with its make. The combined pain was enough to startle him out of Tom's mind and into the present where he was doubled over, bleeding profusely, and found himself on the end of the Potter twins' wands.

"Did you honestly think we'd just sit back and let you rummage around in Tom's head?" demanded the elder Potter, her eyes glowing just slightly like they had on that night so many years ago. "This isn't some telly drama where we have conversations mid-battle and let each other monologue. You've monologued enough tonight and it was boring!"

Both girls followed up with  **Reductors**  while Tom went right in for the kill with the Killing Curse, forcing the Dark Lord to dodge if he didn't want to die.

Voldemort could see the issue. He would have time to take over Tom's mind if the other two weren't free. And they were apparently decent enough at basic dueling to cause problems. Prunella Potter wasn't useless after all. And Belladonna proved why she was the true Girl Who Lived.

§ ** _Master, what shall I do to help?! Shall I eat them?_** §

Nagini! He'd forgotten that she'd been there all along! It was the perfect escape plan! Sure he would be set back some, but he could fix the issue sooner rather than later because he had more at his disposal now! Nagini was magically enhanced and unlike normal snakes, so she could handle the strain of possession.

Allowing the curses to hit him at once, Voldemort once again found himself bodiless - his body dissolving instantly once his soul departed - and took the scant seconds he had to latch onto Nagini, take control of her body, and slither away before anyone noticed. He simply had to grab Hufflepuff's Cup from Riddle Manor, and find a sacrifice. Then he could make the awakened soul piece absorb him so he could take them over!

He had always been brilliant. The children might have won the battle, and foolishly thought it was for good, but Voldemort would win the eventual war.

* * *

"We killed Voldemort."

"The snake is gone."

"But like for real this time."

"It's not good that the other Horcrux got away, Bella."

"Yeah sure, but I'm still caught on the fact that his body effin exploded into nothing. There's nothing left!"

"That means very little where Soul Magicks are involved."

It was obvious that the three of them had different concerns when it came to the entire event. Prue was more of the opinion that they shouldn't doubt Voldemort's ability to stay alive. He was like a cockroach in that respect.

"What is a Horcrux, how does Tom have Voldemort's soul, and when did either of you plan on telling anyone about these precious details?" Prue asked, wanting answers before heading back to school where she would have to pretend that everything was normal.

Bella sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well according to you, we've got nothing but time, so go ahead."

And that was how Prue learned about her sister's connection to Voldemort and Tom both, and learned about Tom's full connection to Voldemort as well.

In the end... having a soul connection just reinforced the idea of the two idiots being soulmates. She doubted they saw it that way, but eventually they would. ' _Keeper of My Soul_ ' was quite sappy and romantic after all.

* * *

Of all the people to get caught by when sneaking back into the school, of course it would be Snape. They'd been so careful with the Map and everything, and somehow they  _still_  managed to get caught by him! It was like lurking was his job!

He gave Tom the stink eye and told him to rejoin his schoolmates to set things to rights since Karkaroff had disappeared suddenly and no one could find him and there was a mild panic attack forming. He then dragged the twins to his office and demanded to know what they knew about the Dark Mark returning to full colour and then fading soon after.

Also, he made Bella give up the Time Turner, which was still warm since its cool down time took so long, and gave them away.

"He's gone," said Bella plainly with a shrug.

"Maybe," Prue added. " _I'm_  not so sure."

Snape pulled up his sleeve to reveal his own mark that they all knew he possessed, his face pinched up. "He is not gone. If he was, the mark would fade entirely and  _only_  when he is well and truly dead. No matter if the bearer is dead themselves."

Fuck. Bella had wanted to remain positive but apparently she had some real shite luck.

"You're lucky Demerits can't be issued by now otherwise I would remove every single point from your Houses for daring to endanger yourselves!"

"But we were taking care of Voldy so he can't harm anyone else!"

Bella shrunk under his sudden glare, feeling guilty all of a sudden. "That isn't your job, no matter who the Prophecy talks about. You are children and your jobs are school and whatever you willingly invested your efforts and images in. Nothing more; nothing less. This is just what Albus wanted and it's disgusting."

And now she felt kind of dirty because Dumbles was annoying and Bella didn't want to do whatever he would want.

"I won't inform your godfathers, because Morgana knows what Black would do in response, but you need to honestly consider who the Dark Lord is and why it isn't safe to provoke him in low numbers."

She got that Snape was worried in his own way. That was what made his reprimand acceptable and not annoying.

And since he obviously cared... she'd endeavour to let him  _think_  they were behaving from then on. Wouldn't want the dude to have an aneurysm or anything.

* * *

    **~.O.~**

* * *

**A/N: Another is done!**

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER HARRYMORT/TOMARRY FICS! ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> CHECK OUT MY MANY OTHER TOMARRY/HARRYMORT FICS! ^-^


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